Dyson Supersonic: two-minute review
The Dyson Supersonic was this brand’s first foray into haircare, and quickly cemented a reputation for being perhaps the best hair dryer on the market. The four years of development and £50 million (around $68 / AU$92 million) on research paid off.
Thanks to Dyson’s engineering skill, the Supersonic delivers powerful airflow in a relatively lightweight form factor. The design is sleek and streamlined compared to your traditional chunky hair dryer, and because most of the weight is in the handle, it’s comfortable to hold and easy to wield. It dries hair quickly, and is just as effective for styling – mainly thanks to a selection of very well-designed attachments.
These attachments are magnetic, so snap easily on and off the barrel of the hair dryer. A special shout-out should go to the Flyaway attachment, which tames flyaways using the same hair-bending effect that powers the Dyson AirWrap. It works remarkably well, and there’s nothing else like it on the market.
In 2024, Dyson launched an upgraded version of the Supersonic. The design is very similar to the original, but there are a number of fancy new features – you can get the full low-down on that one in our Dyson Supersonic Nural review.
There’s no denying the Dyson Supersonic is eye-wateringly expensive, which may limit its appeal for some, but we were impressed at how quickly we were able to create a shiny, sleek style from wet, and the effectiveness of the flyaway attachment. The faults we can find with it are so minor that we think it’s worth the investment if you can stretch to the price tag.
Dyson Supersonic review: price & availability
- List price: $399 / £299 / AU$549
- Launched 2026
- Available globally
The Dyson Supersonic is priced at $399 / £299 / AU$549 and is available from Dyson as well as online retailers including Amazon.
This is the most expensive hair dryer we’ve tested and come in at almost twice the price of the GHD Air – the top-of-the-range hair dryer from the Salon brand that occupies second place in our best hair dryers round-up and is priced at $199 / £109 / AU$235.
Dyson also offers a hair straightener, called the Dyson Corale, which is priced at $499 / £399 / AU$699, and as we’ve already mentioned, the AirWrap hair styler, which will set you back $549 /£449 / AU$799.
In all cases, it’s a smart move to see what Dyson promo codes are applicable so you can save more.
Dyson Supersonic review: design
- Compact and lightweight
- Unusual design
- Comes with three speed and three heat settings
Hair dryers haven’t really changed in decades; the last significant design change happened all the way back in the 60s when the bulky motor was moved into the main casing.
This was an improvement on what we had before, but it resulted in a bulky device with most of its weight in the top rear of the device. This isn’t exactly ideal for something you hold above your head; we’ve experienced more than one thump to the head thanks to a weary arm.
Dyson has a history of throwing out the rulebook when it comes to designing products – ditching the bag in its vacuums; replacing blades with vents in its fans – so it’s no surprise its Supersonic doesn’t look like a traditional hair dryer.
By using a much smaller and more efficient V9 digital motor – the company’s smallest in fact – Dyson has been able to move the motor from the head of the dryer into its handle. This redistributes the weight, and makes the entire thing much more compact – it measures 9.6 x 3.1 x 3.8 inches / 24.5 x 7.8 x 9.7 cm (h x w d)
Instead of a lengthy barrel and a clunky system of rotors, filters and vents, Dyson has shrunk the V9 motor in the Supersonic down to slightly smaller than a quarter or a 10p coin, and placed it at the bottom of the handle with a rubber mount. This sleek, thin handle extends to a circular ring, with two buttons on the shaft – the power, and cold shot buttons – and two on the rear of the ring; one that controls its three air speeds, another for selecting one of its three temperature settings.
The rubber mount in the handle reduces the amount of vibration making it more comfortable to use for long periods. The downside to having the filter in the handle is that we often blocked it with our hand. In addition to making the dryer lighter and easier to hold, the Supersonic’s much smaller motor can propel 2.85 gallons / 13 liters of air per second, and spins around eight times faster than the motors used in standard hair dryers, which Dyson says makes it more efficient, and much less likely to overheat and burn out.
The Supersonic also has a glass bead thermometer that monitors its temperature 20 times per second, and transmits the data back to a microprocessor to make sure the heat remains consistent.
All this means you won’t have to deal with that metallic burning smell that you sometimes get when you use other hair dryers for a long period of time. And you also won’t have to deal with the worrying smell of burning hair, as the microprocessor keeps the airflow temperature stable and under 302 degree F / 150 degree C no matter what.
Human hair is going to be damaged by brushing and heat no matter what, but past 302 degree F / 150 degree C the damage becomes irreversible and more noticeable, so by keeping airflow temperature in the optimal safe zone and instead upping the airflow pressure the Dyson Supersonic is able to prevent this.
The Dyson Supersonic also comes with a selection of attachments, including the flyaway attachment, a wide-tooth comb for coily hair, a diffuser for curly hair and a styling concentrator, although, unlike professional-style hair dryers, there’s no hanging loop on the Supersonic.
Dyson Supersonic review: performance
- Fast drying times
- Flyaway attachment creates a sleek, smooth finish
- Balanced in use
We were impressed with just how quickly the Dyson Supersonic dried our hair. On the lowest temperature settings and fastest speed, it took four minutes and 31 seconds to take below-shoulder-length fine hair from damp to completely dry. Using the hottest of the three settings shaved over a minute off this time (three minutes and 26 seconds) – making it the quickest hair dryer we’ve tested. On all settings, hair was left looking shiny and smooth.
We initially used the fly away attachment to dry our hair from damp, but we found that it increased the drying time to nine minutes. Instead, we were able to strike the right balance between time and a flyaway-free finish by sectioning off the crown of the hair. We used the Supersonic with a barrel brush on the remainder of the hair, while the flyaway attachment was used to blow dry the crown only, and resulted in a drying time of three minutes and 58 seconds – which we think is an acceptable compromise.
The attachments connect to the barrel of the hair dryer magnetically, which is a simple design change, but it makes fitting and removing them a much smoother process. They also have solid lips on their edges through which the hot air doesn’t blow, and as a result remain cool, which makes changing the attachment a more comfortable process.
The Dyson Supersonic should feel heavier than it does, due to its 1.5 lb / 659g weight, but this repositioning of parts means its weight is spread out more evenly than with traditional dryers. We found this significantly reduced arm ache during use. We were also able to hold the dryer closer to our hair, which made blow-drying the roots fair easier than with bulkier hair dryers.
One of the most attractive claims of the Dyson Supersonic is that it’s quieter than other hair dryers thanks to the more efficient motor. It registered 74db on our decibel meter, which is around 8db quieter than the Remington Hydraluxe Pro EC9001, which is one of the noisiest hair dryers we’ve tested. That said, while it’s a level we can live with for a few minutes at a time, using it in the morning beside a sleeping partner was still not welcomed.
Should I buy the Dyson Supersonic?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
- First reviewed: November 2019
