LG unveils battery-powered air-purifying face mask

The battery life will range from eight hours on the low setting to two hours on high.

LG on Thursday announced an air-purifying face mask, which the company plans to show off at next week’s IFA trade show in Berlin. The face mask will fit like many others, with loops that hook behind the ears, but LG said it’ll include two high-quality HEPA filters that can remove at least 99.97% of particulates in the air down to .3 microns in size.

In a world continuing to face the coronavirus pandemic, an air-purifying mask seems likely to gain traction. While the price and release date haven’t been announced, LG offered other information about the device.

The mask includes 820mAh battery-powered dual fans, along with the filters. On high settings, the battery life will last about two hours, LG said, and on low it will last about eight hours. “With its Dual Fans … [the] wearable air purifier allows users to take in clean, filtered air,” the consumer electronics giant said in its press release. In addition, the fans will adjust speed as you inhale and exhale to make breathing feel “effortless.”

The mask will come with a case that both charges the battery and disinfects the mask with UV light.

While LG said the mask will clean the air coming in through the filters, its press release doesn’t say the same about air going out. The announcement also didn’t include any mention of whether the mask will protect users from COVID-19 more effectively than alternatives — a subject already fraught in the realm of face masks and air purifiers.

When David Priest asked these questions over email, an LG spokesperson said, “We’re waiting until further testing is complete before we’re able to share full details.”