Laifen Swift 4 hair dryer takes on Dyson at CES 2026 – and I'm blown away

Laifen Swift 4 rivals Dyson Supersonic hair dryers, and will likely cost a lot less (credit: Laifen)

Consider me blown away by the Laifen Swift 4 – literally. This is the company’s most refined hair dryer to date, and it comes with a feature that genuinely surprised me: essential oil compatibility. Yes, you can now infuse your hair with nourishing oils while you dry it. That’s something the $400+ Dyson Supersonic hair dryer can’t do.

I went hands-on with the Swift 4 at CES 2026, the annual tech show in Las Vegas, where Laifen has previously impressed me with its Wave electric toothbrush (my daily driver when traveling) and T1 Pro 1-Blade Electric Shaver (which sits proudly on my bathroom counter). Now Laifen is making sure the hair on top of my head is perfectly dry, nourished, and styled.

Laifen Swift 4 Hair Dryer specs

• Motor: 4th Gen High-Speed Brushless Motor, 115,000 RPM

• Materials: PC, ABS, and Aluminum Alloy construction

• Key feature: Essential oil compatibility for hair nourishment

• Release: Later in 2026

• Price: TBA (previous Swift models retail $150-$240)

(credit: Laifen)

Laifen Switch 4 packs some serious engineering into a travel-friendly hair dryer. It includes the lifestyle tech company’s 4th-gen high-speed brushless motor, spinning at 115,000 RPM, which is heads, shoulders, and hair follicles ahead of the original Swift’s 110,000 RPM motor. More importantly, it matches the speeds that Dyson offers in its premium dryers, which are all the rage.

The body is constructed from a blend of PC, ABS, and aluminum alloy – materials that give it a satisfying weight without tiring out your arm tired after a five-minute blow-dry session. It feels premium in hand, which is exactly what you’d expect from a brand that’s been steadily climbing the personal care ladder.

But here’s what caught my attention: the essential oils integration. The Swift 4 is designed to work seamlessly with oils to leave hair smooth, nourished, and manageable. This isn’t just about drying your hair quickly – it’s about treating it while you style. That’s a fundamentally different approach than what we’ve seen from the competition.

Also announced at CES 2026 from Laifen:

• Laifen Wave Pro Electric Toothbrush (oscillation + vibration technology, up to 66,000 vibrations per minute)

• Laifen Mini Hair Dryer (33% smaller, 27% lighter, 110,000 RPM motor)

(credit: Laifen)

Let’s address the elephant in the room. The Dyson Supersonic currently retails for around $400-$550, depending on the model and where you buy it. The Supersonic Nural, Dyson’s newest model with sensor technology, pushes even higher at $550-$650.

Laifen’s Swift line has historically come in at around $150-$240 – roughly 1/3rd of Dyson’s price. We don’t have official pricing for the Swift 4 yet (it’s set to launch later this year, and as a trend, we’re seeing fewer retailers confirm prices at CES 2026). But if Laifen follows their usual strategy, you’re looking at premium performance without the premium tax.

Another highlight: Previous Swift models weigh under a pound, making them significantly lighter than the Dyson Supersonic’s 1.8 pounds. They’re also notably quieter – around 59 decibels compared to Dyson’s 77 decibels.

Where Dyson has traditionally won is in drying speed – about 4.5 minutes for thick hair compared to around 7 minutes for the Swift. But with the upgraded 115,000 RPM motor in the Swift 4, that gap may be closing.

(credit: Laifen)

The hands-on demos let me try both the Swift 4 and their new Mini hair dryer (33% smaller and 27% lighter than previous models, but still packing a 110,000 RPM motor – ideal for travel when suitcase space is more important than hair drying speeds).

The reps at the Laifen CES 2026 booth told The Shortcut that they are eager for the Swift 4 to represent the next evolution of hair dryers, not to be another Dyson hair dryer clone. The essential oils feature makes it unique. That said, the price difference between Laifen’s hair dryer and Dyson’s flagships will be truly alluring.

If you’re currently in the market for a premium hair dryer, the Swift 4 is worth keeping on your radar. Laifen hasn’t announced a specific release date beyond “later this year,” and pricing is still TBA. But based on what I saw at CES, this could be the dryer that finally makes people stop asking, “Is it worth paying $400+ for a Dyson?”

The answer might be: you don’t have to.

I’ll have a full hands-on review once the Swift 4 launches. In the meantime, if you can’t wait, the current Swift models are still excellent options – I’ve seen them dip to around $110-170 during sales, which makes them an absolute steal for this level of technology.