Dyson spent around six years developing its new CameraJet toothbrush, involving hundreds of engineers and some highly sophisticated technology.
But within days of its September 2026 launch, users and reviewers were reporting failures, and the product soon became temporarily unavailable in several markets.
Dyson later confirmed that one production batch of jet tubes had experienced a manufacturing process issue that created the potential for water seepage.
This makes the CameraJet an interesting case study for anyone developing and manufacturing a new hardware product.
A product can be extensively engineered, tested, and validated, but still run into problems when it moves into mass production. Waterproofing, manufacturing-process control, NPI, production validation, field failure analysis, and traceability all become critical.
In this episode of China Manufacturing Decoded, Adrian and Renaud use the Dyson CameraJet story to explore what hardware companies can learn from a high-profile product launch that ran into problems almost immediately.
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Podcast sections
- 00:01:00 – What happened with the Dyson CameraJet?
- 00:02:47 – Why this launch problem would be so painful for a manufacturer
- 00:06:31 – Losing launch momentum and the importance of traceability
- 00:07:48 – Early product failures and negative reviews
- 00:09:25 – Was waterproofing part of the problem?
- 00:10:39 – What can we really know about the root cause?
- 00:13:11 – Why waterproof products are particularly difficult to manufacture
- 00:15:51 – You need to design the manufacturing process as well as the product
- 00:17:42 – How manufacturing can undermine an otherwise good product design
- 00:19:30 – End-of-line testing and manufacturing-process maturity
- 00:20:43 – How poor process control can create a defective production batch
- 00:22:36 – Why problems are more likely during early mass production
- 00:23:35 – Dyson’s affected production batch and what it tells us
- 00:25:25 – Why a structured NPI process matters
- 00:26:20 – Using repeated builds to expose problems before mass production
- 00:28:54 – Why manufacturers should be involved before industrialization
- 00:29:57 – The risks of a “big bang” global product launch
- 00:30:52 – Is a phased launch safer?
- 00:34:45 – Why new products should get into the hands of real users early
- 00:35:46 – How to manage field failures after launch
- 00:36:14 – Gathering failed units and identifying failure patterns
- 00:37:14 – Feeding field failures back into product and manufacturing improvements
- 00:37:39 – Final takeaway: find problems quickly and act before they become a crisis
You might also like…
- Sofeast – The New Product Introduction Process Guide
A detailed guide to moving from product development into production, including pilot runs and production validation. - Agilian – How Reliability Testing Is Critical To Obtaining Great Mass-Produced Products
Particularly relevant because it covers repeated pre-production builds, reliability testing, and finding weaknesses before mass production. - QualityInspection.org – Manufacturing Traceability: Improve Quality, Compliance, and More!
Continues the discussion about identifying which production batches, components, and finished products may be affected when a problem emerges. - QualityInspection.org – What QC Processes Should Be Set Up Before Mass Production?
Covers the controls, testing, process-risk reviews, and pilot-run preparation that should be established before full production starts. - Agilian – Early Field Failure Analysis: Protecting Product Success & Reputation
Explains the process of dealing with returns: collect returned or failed units quickly, classify the problems, identify patterns, perform failure analysis, and feed the findings back into product and manufacturing improvements.
Media sources
- The Verge – Some of Dyson’s $500 toothbrushes are breaking
- Consumer Reports – Dyson CameraJet Toothbrush Review: In a Word, Disappointing
- Inc. – Dyson’s $500 Toothbrush Took 6 Years to Develop. It Quietly Disappeared From Stores Within Weeks
- Video – A Dentist’s Review of the Dyson Camerajet Toothbrush – SAVE YOUR MONEY!
- (Blog featured image credited to Dyson’s official press release)
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