Dyson redesigned the familiar hair dryer to create a totally revolutionary product in the beauty and grooming category, combining style and performance in a small and lightweight form factor.

The Dyson Supersonic is a unique hair dryer in the sense that its motor is located inside the handle. The new V9 digital motor has the size that is similar to a D-sized battery and the weight of a mere 370 grams (13 ounces). This focus on the motor size makes redesigning the Supersonic the biggest improvement that Dyson has made to hair dryers, which are notorious for their rather heavy, noisy and boring look and feel.

With the motor inside the Supersonic's handle, it automatically shifts its weight distribution, allowing users to feel more comfortable when holding the hair dryer for longer periods.

Dyson also assures consumers that its Supersonic hair dryer is absolutely safe to use, especially when it comes to heat. In order to prevent accidental burns, there are sensors that monitor the heating elements found in the dryer's head as often as 20 times per second, ensuring that the temperature is maintained at a constant level. This type of mechanism even allows the unit to automatically shut down if it does get too hot.

The Dyson Supersonic features double-walled designs that allow the hair dryer to keep the heat inside while staying cool to the touch. This same feature, along with a magnetic ring, allows users to easily swap out accessories, which include a diffuser, a smoothing nozzle and a concentrator.

Other features include a power switch, a cool air-only button, a pair of buttons on the air multiplier (one for hot air speed and one for cool) and a built-in ionizer to de-ionize the hair.

The Dyson Supersonic was created out of 600 prototypes and has more than 100 pending patents. At least 103 engineers worked on the product, which took four years to make and cost £50 million (approximately $72 million) in research and development.

With all these innovative features and investment costs, it somehow explains why the Dyson Supersonic will retail at $400. It is slated to hit Sephora stores in the United States in September, while a UK release is set in June. There is also an imminent release in Japan while global availability should be announced anytime now.