A couple of weeks ago, I was at the Berlin launch of the Dyson CameraJet – a €500 smart toothbrush that promises to us cameras, AI and specially designed toothpaste and mouthwash, to improve your dental hygeine. It set the media world alight as the technology and, honestly, the price, left jaws gaping. But expensive can still be good, so how has the CameraJet fared? Online reports suggest it’s been mixed at best.
Issues with the Dyson CameraJet
If a toothbrush were to cost me €500, I would expect it to be pretty good. Because for that price, I could go get my teeth cleaned professionally 5 times a year. While I’ve yet to get my hands, or teeth, onto the CameraJet, there have been online reports of somewhat “widespread” issues with the toothbrush.
Multiple owners reportedy found liquid in the battery compartment within the first few days of normal use. The suggestions is that a seal on the battery compartment or overall waterproofing is inadequate.
Potentially linked, is units that have failed completely within a few short weeks of use. This has been reportedly accompanied with a red-critical fault light flashing.
Others have claimed that the accuracy of the water jets in the toothbrush are poor, leading to water spraying around the bathroom. My own dentist told me in passing that he has doubts about how any water jet could clean to the level needed to compare to flossing. I have promised him a look if a unit lands in.
All of these reported issues have come from various countries including the United States, France and the United Kingdom, suggesting it’s not a localised issue either.
Dyson repsonse to CameraJet issues
A Dyson spokesperson told Goosed that there is a known issue and that “the issue relates to a small number of early batches. Customers who have questions about their product, or who experience an issue, should contact Customer Service for support. Where a customer has an impacted unit we are providing a full refund”.
There were rumours that Dyson had seen such backlash that the company stalled production for a full relaunch, but these seem to be somewhat unfounded as Dyson’s spokesperson also said the company was “seeing some shortages of supply as [they] are in the process of scaling up production, but [they] expect the next wave of product to be available in the coming weeks”.
Early adopters often feel like they are in the trenches with new technology, but it’s genuinely surprising for an engineering-focused company like Dyson to have such a significant launch go a little pear-shaped. Time will tell if the Dyson CameraJet can ever live up to, and justify, its €500 pricetag.
