James Dyson, the man behind the bagless vacuum cleaner, has unveiled a $399 hairdryer. The technology is impressive, but the marketing could be a challenge.

As you might expect from the engineer, the main difference is to the motor that operates the dryer, which cuts down on weight (the dryer is 370g) and noise. The new dryer is also billed as being safer, both in terms of heat and hair jams.

Standard hair dryers — which Dyson claims haven’t changed much in 60 years — work in much the same way as cheap and basic portable heaters. They suck in air at one end, pass it over an electrically heated metal coil, then blow it out at the other.

The Dyson Supersonic replaces the bulky motor with a slimmer model around the size of a D battery. That’s allowed a redesign of the casing, with the handle being a taller and thinner “pole” said to be easier to hold for longer. Instead of relying on a powerful motor, the new dryer uses the same “air multiplier” found in Dyson fans and heaters to effectively amplify the blast of air to what’s said to be twice the speed of an ordinary dryer.

Dyson says the motor has been specifically engineered to operate at a pitch barely if at all detectable by the human ear.

The dryer also has some tweaks to reduce the risks of getting burned. Sensors in the head measure temperature 20 times per second so the dryer can automatically adjust to keep temperature constant and cut the power if there’s a risk of getting dangerously hot.

The attachments stay in place with a magnetic ring rather than relying on being forced in place and have a donut design with the hot air in a “pipe” in the middle surrounded by a ring that sucks in cool air to keep the exterior safe to handle.

The dryer is also said to be less likely to suck in and catch hair. The air-in vent is at the base of the handle, which should be the furthest point from the scalp. There’s also a small ridge and blade inside the vents which, if hair does get sucked in, should immediately slice the tip of the hair and release the rest.

The downside is of course the enormous price tag. It may well be that even if existing dryers do have limitations, people are so used to them that they don’t feel like a problem that needs an expensive solution.