Hands-on with the Dyson Supersonic r hairdryer: A tech-packed powerhouse for professionals

When Dyson first launched the Supersonic hairdryer back in 2016, it probably came as a shock to most. Sorry, did you just say a company that is globally known for launching the first bagless vacuum cleaner now has a hairdryer? And not just any hairdryer either, a really expensive one by most hairdryer standards.

But Dyson proved that it wasn’t just cordless vacuum cleaners and fans it could do well – it could do haircare well too. Brilliantly in fact. The Supersonic is a fantastic hairdryer – even 8 years on – but it doesn’t just come in one model anymore, there are now three Supersonic hairdryers blowing our minds – and our hair.

I’ve used the OG Dyson Supersonic for years, but I’ve also been to Dyson’s HQ in Malmesbury to see the Dyson Supersonic Nural and the Supersonic r up close.

How is the Supersonic r different to the Supersonic Nural and original Supersonic?

The Dyson Supersonic r is aimed at professionals rather than your average person attempting to blow dry their hair themselves in their bedroom. It’s a completely different shape to the Supersonic Nural and the original Supersonic. Where both the Supersonic and Supersonic Nural adopt the same shape, with the Nural differentiating itself by offering exposed electronics at the back, the Supersonic r almost chops off the entire head. 

At the end of the r-shape (yes, that’s where the name comes from) is where the attachments magnetically snap on. The original Supersonic also offers magnetic attachments, but they don’t have Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology on board like the Dyson Supersonic Nural and the Dyson Supersonic r. RFID tech has a number of different uses – you might have seen it if you’ve been to a newer Zara or Uniqlo store where no scanners are required at the checkout – but in the case of the Supersonic r and the Supersonic Nural, it enables the hairdryer to remember the last settings you used for each attachment to automatically refer back to those when you snap each one back on. 

The attachments are the same between the Dyson Supersonic r and the Dyson Supersonic Nural, while the original Dyson Supersonic has a slightly different offering. For the Nural and Supersonic r, the attachments consist of a Styling Concentrator, Wide-Tooth Comb, Flyaway Attachment, Gentle Air Attachment and a Wave+Curl Diffuser. The Supersonic has a non-RFID version of all of those attachments but the Wave+Curl Diffuser is new for the Supersonic Nural and Supersonic r.

The Dyson Supersonic r also adopts the company’s first curved heater, which is designed to ensure a more even temperature distribution and no hot spots. The Supersonic Nural meanwhile, offers a scalp protect mode to differentiate itself. 

All three Supersonic hairdryers have three heat settings, three airflow settings, a filter at the bottom of the handle – much like you’ll find on the Dyson Airwrap and Airstrait, the on/off switch slightly higher up on the handle and a cool shot button, delivering design synergy across the range. They also all have Dyson’s Intelligent Heat Control, whereby a glass bead thermistor and embedded temperature sensor in the heater measure air temperature more than 20 times a second to prevent extreme heat damage.

What is the Dyson Supersonic r like?

The Dyson Supersonic is light. Really light in fact. Pick it up and aside from the slightly odd shape that is immediately distinctive, the weight, or lack thereof is the first thing that’s immediately noticeable. 

What’s interesting about that is that most professional hairdryers are heavy, with the majority of the weight in the head. Dyson changed up the weight distribution game with the original Supersonic, moving the weight from the head and into the handle, and the Supersonic r uses that same engineering. 

The Supersonic r weighs just 325g, which in hand is lovely and light. To put that number into real-world context, it weighs less than an iPad, less than a bottle of 400ml hairspray and definitely less than the original Supersonic, a whole 20 per cent less. 

The finish is also lovely as anyone who has come across Dyson hair products will have come to expect. The soft-to-touch matte coating is delightful to hold and the colour is stunning. I saw the Dyson Supersonic r in the Vinca Blue and Topaz model and the purple blue colour is really set off by the orange. It’s gorgeous.

The attachments snapped on and off quickly and easily, while the power is everything I had come to expect from a Supersonic hairdryer when turned on. I didn’t get a chance to dry my hair with the Supersonic r when I saw it, but I will be sure to do this, along with talking to some professionals I know for their opinion when review units of this hairdryer appear. 

How much is the Dyson Supersonic r and when is it available?

There is currently no UK price for the Dyson Supersonic r hairdryer, or a release date. For professionals in the US, the Supersonic r costs $569.99. If you’re in the UK, you can sign up on Dyson’s website to be notified when it is available to buy.

For now, I’m off to try and retrain as a hairdresser.