2 min readHardware and software are two entirely different skill sets. Many times good hardware can be let down by a shoddy user experience, and the best app can be a dud if the real world application doesn’t stack up. So when Dyson - a primo hardware company - dipped into software with the new Airwrap ID, I approached it like I would a raccoon. Excited, but with middling confidence.
Instead what I encountered was the software opposite of the trash panda. No chaos. No bugs. Just a simple, user-friendly interface.
Dyson’s first connected device, the Airwrap ID, was born from user complaints. Across the internet you’ll find plenty of Dyson fans commiserating that their hair simply won’t hold a curl. According to one Dyson in-store stylist I spoke to, plenty of buyers have returned the device after it failed to style their hair with any longevity. Seemingly as a response to this, Dyson came out with the Airwrap ID and its Bluetooth connected companion app. The app allows the user to set up a hair profile, and will use this information to automatically run the Airwrap through a bespoke wrapping, heating, and cooling cycle called Curl ID. It is a clever solution to a commonplace problem, but its only hope of being successful is if the already beloved hardware, and the new software work in tandem.
From my hands-on time with the Airwrap ID, they do.
Pairing mode was as simple as any set of wireless headphones, and it re-paired consistently even after turning the device off, and on again repeatedly to try to trip it up. The process for setting up a hair profile was around five questions about hair length, thickness, styling preferences, and how well your hair holds. Controlling the Curl ID cycle is available both on device by flicking the power button up, or on your phone through a touch screen. When you physically turn the heat down on the Airwrap, the app automatically updates with new timing for each part of the cycle. And once the device has learned your Curl ID, you don’t need to have the app open anymore. As long as Bluetooth is connected, the Airwrap will go through the motions.
Still though, the best laid app can still go awry if it doesn’t fulfil the real-world brief. While my curls are still holding strong seven hours later, I’m sorry to admit that I am not the target audience for the Airwrap ID. I’ve never had a problem with my hair holding a style from the Airwrap, or any styling tool for that matter, but what I am is lazy. For beauty, I’m always looking for the biggest impact with the lowest effort and this device fits that brief. Just hold the wand up to my hair, with one hand, and let the machine make the decisions for me? Perfection. Make it a geeky gadget on top of that? 10 out of 10.
There were plenty of potential fault points for the Airwrap ID. The Bluetooth connection could have been janky, but it wasn’t. Setting up your hair profile could have taken too long, but it didn’t. Changing the heat settings could have not impacted the styling cycle formula, but it does. The connection could have timed out if your phone locked, but it doesn’t. All of the finer details that could limit the uptake of the companion app were considered, and their solutions are well executed. For a first foray into connected devices, Dyson knocked it out of the park.
