Gadgets
LG formally unveils its battery-powered air purifier mask
LG has publicly revealed a compact air purifier where you put a mask over your nose. The PuriCare Portable Air Purifier uses a pair of replaceable filters identical to those you might see in LG's line of home air purifiers, matching them with battery-powered fans to help you breathe. LG says the system has sensors that sense whether you're breathing in or out, and sets the speed of the fans accordingly.
Today's announcement ahead of IFA 2020 does not make clear reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it clearly suggests that the mask was created in response to it.
The organization claims that the air purifier is intended to replace the "inconsistent" handmade masks used by certain users, as well as the plastic masks that are said to have been in short supply.
Back in July, when LG unveiled the mask for the first time and said it would donate 2,000 of the products to a university hospital in Seoul, one of the company's executives said they thought it would support medical workers amidst the long-lasting COVID-19 pandemic, the Korea Herald reported. They hoped it would make life safer for medical personnel to wear masks for hours at a time.
It is important to remember, though, that LG's press release makes no promises about a mask stopping the transmission of coronavirus, or how it cleans air when you exhale as well as inhale. LG refused to comment on The Verge when we asked about it specifically, and said it was waiting for qualification and testing to be complete to provide more details. It's an significant difference, as masks are very much for stopping the wearer from infecting others around them as they are for trying to protect the wearer from being contaminated.
The US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention is also promoting the use of masks with exhalation valves or vents to avoid coronavirus transmission, as they do not remove "expelled respiratory droplets" that would cause users to infect others nearby.
LG 's latest mask uses motorized fans, it has to be powered to operate. LG claims that the PuriCare Portable Air Purifier has an 820mAh battery that allows up to 8 hours of use in its low-power mode, declining to only 2 hours in high-power mode.
LG 's announcement does not specify exactly when the mask will be launched or how much it will cost, but states that it will be available in "select markets" in the fourth quarter of this year.
