If you're in the market for a high-end hair dryer, you might well find yourself deciding between the Dyson Supersonic and the Dyson Supersonic Nural. The latter is more advanced, and more expensive, but are the extra features worth it? In this article, we'll run through the exact differences, so you can choose the right one for your needs.
The Dyson Supersonic took the market by storm when it was released in 2016. With a motor in its handle rather than its head, it showed true ingenuity in a neglected area of tech, and it looked sleek to boot.
Today, it's been superseded by the Supersonic Nural, which came out in 2024. This newer iteration of Dyson's hair dryer comes with an array of fancy new features, including a mode that protects your scalp, and the ability to remember the last settings you used with each attachment. You can read more in our Dyson Supersonic Nural review.
As this is Dyson, neither of these dryers come cheap. The original Dyson hair dryer wins on price (though not by much in some cases), and is still extremely efficient, as we note in our Dyson Supersonic review. And while the Nural is rated as best premium pick in our best hair dryer guide, the orginal Supersonic is still a fantastic dryer.
With its newer features and improved attachments, the Nural wins in three out of our four categories. If you don't mind spending a bit more – and you'll already be spending quite a bit – then the Nural is probably worth shelling out for. That's the short version; let's dig into the specifics of how the Dyson Supersonic vs Nural compare.
Dyson Supersonic vs Supersonic Nural: price & value for money
At TechRadar, we class any hair dryer that costs over $200/£200 to be 'premium', and Dyson's pricing is way above this, putting it in an eye-wateringly expensive category of its own.
On Dyson's site, the Supersonic costs $429.99 / £279.99 / AU$649 while the Supersonic Nural costs $499.99 / £399.99 / AU$749. That means the Nural is $70 more expensive than the original Supersonic in the US, £120 more in the UK and AU$100 more expensive in Australia.
In the US and Australia, that's not particularly big price jump (at least, when you're already in the 'several hundred dollars' category). But in the UK it's a bit more of a difference. In any case, it's worth weighing up if the Nural offers enough to make the extra cost worth it.
Both are very well-built and meticulously engineered (and it could even be argued they're not even that overpriced). If your budget is stretched already and you really can't afford the Nural over the Supersonic, then the Supersonic is a great option, whereas if you want a future-proofed hair dryer with all the latest features then the Nural may be the better purchase.
Also note there may be deals available on both hair dryers, particularly around the Black Friday sales.
- Winner: Supersonic – the older Dyson Supersonic is the cheaper of the two, although the difference isn't that big in the US and AU
Dyson Supersonic vs Supersonic Nural: design
With the original Supersonic, Dyson turned traditional hair dryer design quite literally on its head. By housing the Supersonic's V9 digital motor in the bottom of the handle, Dyson made its dryer more compact and easier to hold. The Supersonic Nural has the same core design as the Supersonic, although it has some extra features, which we'll detail here.
This is Dyson, so it's no surprise that both hair dryers are sleekly and elegantly designed. The original Supersonic comes in various colorways – what's available will depend on your location but these include Rich Copper/Bright Nickel (Australia) and Onyx Black/Gold (US/UK).
The Supersonic Nural comes in two different colors – a purple and orange version named Vinca Blue/Topaz and turquoise and orange, rather fancily called Ceramic Patina/Topaz. Check what's included before you buy: in some locations, some editions of the Supersonic come with a presentation case to keep your hair dryer and its accessories in, and the Vinca Blue/Topaz option of the Nural includes this.
The motor in the Supersonic was revolutionary on launch – it's smaller than a quarter or a 10p coin; it spins around eight times faster than traditional hair dryers, propelling 2.85 gallons / 13 liters of air per second. It also has a rubber mount – designed to reduce vibration. Dyson doesn't give specific details of the Supersonic Nural's motor but we can assume it's at least on par with the original version.
The handle of both hair dryers is topped by a barrel, which has a circular ring at one end – the Nural's is transparent so you can see what's going on inside. In terms of controls, in both models, the shaft has the power and cold shot buttons while the back of the ring has one button for choosing between three air speeds and another for choosing between three temperatures.
In the Nural, there are three little LEDs for both temperature and air speed that light up to indicate which setting you're using.
An Attachment Learning feature – new for the Nural –remembers which temperature/air speed settings were last used with each attachment, and automatically switches to those settings when the attachment is snapped on. This is particularly handy if you're often creating the same hair styles and switching between attachments.
Also new for the Nural is Scalp Protect mode, which has its own button on the barrel. In this mode, a Time of Flight sensor projects an invisible infrared beam to measure the distance between the dryer and your hair, and adjusts the heat accordingly (higher temperature for further away and lower for closer). The idea is to protect your scalp and enable you to do precision styling without worrying about heat damage.
In the Nural, the inside of the main barrel also lights up to show the temperature while in this setting – it changes from blue or yellow (low heat), to orange (medium) and red (the hottest). This feature will be particularly useful for those who have sensitive scalps or already damaged hair, and our reviewer enjoyed the lights. Note that the Supersonic also automatically regulates the temperature so it doesn't go past 302F / 150C (the point of no return when it comes to heat damage), this feature is just not quite as sophisticated as in the Nural.
The last of the new features for the Nural is the Pause Detect setting. This identifies when you've put the dryer down, and automatically cuts the heat and minimizes airflow. This is handy if you're often pausing or switching between tasks while styling your hair, and the machine operates on a deliberate slight delay so that it doesn't cut out unnecessarily.
Overall, the Supersonic Nural has better, more useful features than the Supersonic, although they are the kind of features that you won't necessarily miss if you don't have them (have you ever wished your hair dryer lit up?). One slight niggle our reviewers had with both machines is that the handle is a touch short – meaning it was easy to cover up the filter or activate the cool shot button by accident. Also there is no hook to hang up either machine.
- Winner: Supersonic Nural – The handy new features mean the newer Dyson wins here
Dyson Supersonic vs Supersonic Nural: attachments
Both hair dryers come with a full range of styling attachments, so you won't have to buy any extras. The attachments you get with both dryers are the same in number, though some have been tweaked slightly for the Nural, and the Diffuser has been redesigned for the later dryer. All the attachments are magnetic, so are easy to take on and off, and have sections that remain cool while you dry, so you have something to grab on to when you want to take them off.
Diffuser/Wave+Curl diffuser
The original Supersonic comes with a Diffuser, which is designed to help reduce frizz. With the Supersonic Nural, Dyson took this one step further and introduced the Wave+Curl diffuser, which has two modes. Dome mode (where you remove the prongs of the diffuser to leave a bowl shape) enhances natural waves or curls and Diffuse mode (with the prongs) helps you add volume at the root. Wave+Curl is only attachment which isn't compatible with Pause Detect.
Gentle air attachment
This one is designed for "comfortable up-close" drying and styling, according to Dyson, and is "engineered to be kinder to fine hair and sensitive scalps" by diffusing the air.
Styling concentrator
This tool is designed for styling sections of your hair one at a time. The styling concentrator was reengineered slightly for the Nural, it now has a wider, thinner blade.
Wide-tooth comb
The wide-tooth comb is designed to detangle your hair as it dries it and is designed to shape and lengthen curly or coily hair.
Flyaway attachment
As the name suggests, the Flyaway attachment is designed to help reduce flyaways on dry, straight hair. It uses a hair-bending effect seen in the Dyson Airwrap and both of our reviewers were particularly impressed by it.
- Winner: Supersonic Nural – The attachments are basically the same but the newer hair dryer just clinches it because of the Wave+Curl diffuser – this only matters if you have curly/wavy hair
Dyson Supersonic vs Supersonic Nural: performance
Both our reviewers were extremely impressed by the Dyson hair dryers' performance. Our reviewer found the Supersonic to be efficient, quiet (though not so quiet it won't wake up a partner!), with easy to remove magnetic attachments.
The Nural has all this and more. In terms of Scalp Protect mode, in our tests, we found there was no real difference between how long it took to rough-dry hair on maximum settings compared to drying in Scalp Protect mode, which is good news for those who want to dry their hair quickly without worrying about scalp/hair damage.
Our reviewer was also impressed by the Attachment Learning tech in the Nural, with the device remembering past settings with no problem. Pause Detect also worked well. All of these new to the Nural features are more 'nice-to-have' rather than essentials, and they weren't things we were complaining about when we reviewed the OG Supersonic. If you don't want to spend the extra to get the Nural you are unlikely to miss the new features, but if you do get the Nural, you'll probably enjoy using them. Either way, you're getting a super-efficient hair dryer.
- Winner: Supersonic Nural – the new features make using this dryer just that bit easier/more efficient
