From Ars Technica · · 2m
Dyson's $500 toothbrush vanished from stores
The company's camera-equipped CameraJet flopped spectacularly just days after launch, but Dyson won't explain why.
In brief
The company's camera-equipped CameraJet flopped spectacularly just days after launch, but Dyson won't explain why. Dyson's overengineered toothbrush likely has a waterproofing problem that the company is refusing to acknowledge or formally recall. Originally reported by Ars Technica.
Dyson's ambitious toothbrush gamble
After six years and 38 patents, Dyson launched the $499 CameraJet, an electric toothbrush with a macro-lens camera and AI targeting system to spray water between teeth with precision.
Launch day to disaster in hours
The CameraJet hit US stores on September 8. Within 24 hours, Consumer Reports' review unit failed, and users reported water in the battery compartment and immediate breakdowns.
Pulled from shelves worldwide
By September 15, the CameraJet had vanished from stores in the US, UK, France, and Singapore, just one week after its global launch at a Paris event.
Dyson denies recall, blames supply
Dyson's head of Beauty Communications claimed the toothbrush wasn't recalled but was experiencing supply shortages due to strong demand, despite widespread failure reports.
“experiencing strong demand globally and shortages of supply as we are in the process of scaling up production”
Company refuses to explain details
Dyson acknowledged a faulty component in early batches but refused to say what it was, what problem it caused, how many units were affected, or why no formal recall was issued.
“We have identified a single component issue affecting a small number of early batches”
Experts suspect waterproofing failure
iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens and electronics designer Adam Toner both believe water is leaking into the battery compartment, likely due to faulty gaskets, adhesive failures, or manufacturing tolerance issues.
“This sounds like a waterproofing issue. Making products at scale with the tolerances required to waterproof are hard”
The irony of a wet-use device
A toothbrush designed to be submerged in water daily and carry liquid internally somehow failed to be waterproof, raising questions about Dyson's six-year development process.
Wiens calls for repair rethink
iFixit's CEO says Dyson should use this crisis to invest in repairability and make repair parts available, noting the company lags far behind competitors on these fronts.
“Dyson is way behind the industry on making repair parts and information available for their products”
Overengineering bites back
The CameraJet exemplifies the danger of overcomplicating products. Sometimes simple is better, and Dyson's attempt to reinvent the toothbrush backfired spectacularly.
“There's always a danger in over-complicating products. Simple is so often best”
Here's the gist
Dyson's overengineered toothbrush likely has a waterproofing problem that the company is refusing to acknowledge or formally recall.
