At the start of 2021, Razer took the wraps off its Zephyr face mask. It is a mask designed to be reusable and has a rather interesting cyberpunk-looking design, complete with RGB lights and such. It was also initially claimed to come with N95-grade filters that could potentially help users protect themselves against the coronavirus.
However, it seems that Razer has since been accused of misleading the public. This is according to a series of tweets by tech YouTuber Naomi Wu who called out the company for its misleading claims. As a result, it appears that Razer has since removed all mention of N95 on its website and marketing materials.
https://twitter.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/1480445168356519938
It also appears that the company has since made additional notes on its website saying that the mask is not an N95 mask or respirator, and that it is “not meant to be used on medical or clinical settings.” Wu had previously reviewed and given the Zephyr mask a teardown on her YouTube page where she essentially discovered that it was for all intents and purposes, useless.
Considering that Razer had initially suggested that the Zephyr could be the answer to disposable face masks that are creating environmental issues due to the way people are disposing of them, we wouldn’t be surprised if some users bought the mask with the intention of using it as a form of personal protective equipment.
Some comments on Wu’s Twitter post have suggested that Razer needs to do more than just change its marketing materials and language, and that they should recall it out of safety concerns.