Shark Style iQ hair dryer review

• Original review date: December 2021
• Replaced by Shark's new 3-in-1 SpeedStyle in the US, but widely available
• Launch price: £229.99 / $229.99
• Official price now: £199.99 / $179.99

Updated: February 2024. The Shark Style iQ / HyperAir hair dryer is still widely available and is actually a little more affordable than it used to be, bucking the trend many manufacturers have followed in line with inflation. It's got a sister product now, too, the Shark 3-in-1 SpeedStyle, which we're presently in the process of reviewing. In the US, the SpeedStyle seems to have fully replaced the HyperAir on Shark's website, but it's available from third-party retailers like Walmart and Amazon, still. In the UK, it's retailing as usual. The rest of this review remains as previously published.

Josephine Watson

One-minute review

Shark is a brand well known for making some of the best vacuum cleaners around. Often mentioned as a rival to floor-cleaning stalwart Dyson, it’s no surprise that the brand has followed its competitor into the hair-care market. 

The Shark Style iQ, which is known as the Shark HyperAir in the US, is the brand’s first hair dryer, but while Dyson opted to design its hair dryer from the ground up, Shark’s model follows the traditional design with which we’re all familiar. However, the Style iQ comes with smarts such as the ability to automatically adjust the air flow and temperature, based on the attachment you’ve connected, to suit the type of style you’re trying to create.  

The Shark Style iQ hair dryer features three temperature settings, three speed levels, and a cool-shot function. The 1600W hair-care appliance ships with two attachments. The first is a concentrator nozzle with an adjustable opening, suitable for a gentle all-over quick-dry; or, when narrowed, it can be used to create a smooth, sleek style. The second is a diffuser, whose extendable prongs ensure the roots, as well as the ends of curly hair, can be dried evenly, reducing the risk of heat damage. 

At £229.99 / $229.99, the Shark Style iQ is more expensive than many hair dryers on the market, but it still manages to undercut the Dyson supersonic. It’s ideal for those who want to create an array of hairstyles without worrying about which settings they should be using. It will also suit those with curly hair who wish to limit heat damage.  

Shark style iQ hair dryer price and availability

•  List price: £229.99 / $229.99 

The Shark Style iQ, or the Shark HyperAir iQ in the US, will set you back £229.99 / $229.99. It’s available directly through Shark, as well as from retailers including John Lewis in the UK. 

In the UK, the Shark Style iQ comes bundled with a concentrator nozzle and a diffuser, while in the US the diffuser is replaced by a styling brush attachment. An additional bundle in the US also includes the diffuser, a tool for creating soft waves, plus hair clips and a non-slip mat for $249.95. 

There are also Shark promo codes around, so see if the latest arrivals apply to this.

Design

• Three temperature and speed settings
• Ships with two attachments
• Compact and lightweight

The Shark Style iQ looks as you’d expect a hair dryer to, although the barrel is slightly shorter than on some models we’ve tested, such as the Panasonic EH-NA67. It’s a compact hair-care appliance, measuring 25 x 7.5 x 12cm  /  9.8 x 3 x 4.7 inches (h x w x d) and weighing 500g / 1.1lb. 

The UK model comes in a stylish black and rose gold finish, while in the US the hair dryer has a muted gold tone. As mentioned, in the UK the hair dryer comes bundled with a concentrator nozzle and a diffuser, while in the US the package comprises a styling brush attachment in place of the diffuser. 

The hair dryer offers 1600W of power with three temperature settings and three options for the speed of air flow, which are controlled using the buttons on the back of the barrel. The power button is located on the back of the handle, while on the front of the handle is a cool-shot button that delivers a blast of cold air to set your style. 

Those who don’t have a mirror conveniently located next to a power outlet will still be able to dry their hair easily, thanks to the Style iQ’s 2.5m / 8.2ft power cord.

Performance

• Fast drying times
• Automatically adjusting heat and speed settings
• Fiddly to clean

The Shark Style iQ certainly lives up to its claims of being super-quick to dry hair. On the fastest setting, it took 3 minutes and 56 seconds to get our damp, below-shoulder-length fine hair to completely dry. When used on the lowest temperature settings, this increased only to 5 minutes and 8 seconds, making it among the faster hair dryers we’ve tested. 

On all settings, hair was left looking shiny and smooth, with very few fly-away strands. Overall, the Shark Style iQ was comfortable to hold in both the left and right hand (we switched hands, depending upon the side of the head being styled).

We were impressed that when the concentrator nozzle or diffuser were attached to the hair dryer, the temperature and speed settings were adjusted automatically to the optimum level to use that tool. We also found the sliders on the attachments – used to extend the prongs on the diffuser and widen or narrow the concentrator nozzle – moved smoothly. 

In terms of noise, the Shark Style iQ registered 76dB on our decibel meter on the fastest settings. This puts it middle-of-the-range when it comes to noisy hair-care appliances, and is equivalent to the sound emitted by a vacuum cleaner. Since the hair dryer is likely to be on for only a few minutes at a time, it's acceptable.

However, we were disappointed that the hair dryer lacks a removable filter, which makes it fiddly to keep free of both dust and lint. 

Should I buy the Shark Style iQ hair dryer?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

First reviewed: November 2021

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