With the Active+ Smart Mask, AirPop brings Fitbit-style health tracking to your face, but instead of being all about steps and calories, it’s about your breathing and air quality. Face masks have become part of everyday life over the last year, and even when the coronavirus pandemic passes, many may consider wearing a mask more often, and AirPop has given you a reason to choose a more high-tech version.
A sensor, which AirPop calls the Halo, is the smart part of the mask, and measures your breathing rates and monitors the filter installed in the mask. The filter is designed to block dust, allergens, and particles, but has a limited lifespan. The Halo sensor communicates with an app on your phone to alert you when a new filter is required.
Inside the app, you’ll find data on pollutants the mask has blocked, informing you about the mask’s effectiveness, along with how long you’ve been wearing the mask per day and over time, breaths taken per minute, the volume of air that has passed through it, and accompanying data for if the mask is worn when exercising. It also provides advice on air quality in the local area and suggests whether wearing the mask would be beneficial, and in what environments.
AirPop has been making masks since 2015, but this is its first connected version. The Bluetooth connection is powered by a coin cell battery which should last for about six months, and the app will be available for both iOS and Android. It will sync with Apple HeathKit if you use the iOS version. The washable mask itself has a preformed 3D structure to keep the filter away from your face, and hidden under the soft shell is a medical-grade membrane that seals around your mouth. AirPop claims its four-layer filters will remove 99.3% of particles and 99.9% of bacteria.
The AirPop Active+ Smart Mask is clearly a big step beyond the cloth masks many will have purchased in 2020, and the price reflects this. It will cost $150 upon release in January 2021 after CES, and this price includes four filters, each of which is good for 40 hours of effective filtration. You can choose between a white, black, and bright lime green version, and AirPop sells packs of four replacement filters for $25. You’ll find it first on AirPop’s own website, and with various retailers soon after.