Razer no longer claims its Zephyr goggles use ‘N95 grade’ filters

Razer’s popular $ 100 Zephyr goggle is not a replacement for PPE (because it is not PPE), but its announcement of the Zephyr Pro last week sparked a wave of claims the company overestimated mask protection. Razer responded by deleting every instance of ‘N95 quality’ from the mask’s product page late last week (via PCMag).

Previously, Razer used the N95 in several places to describe the filtration and efficiency of its replaceable filters, called “N95 grade” due to their 99% bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE). Razer now calls them “air purification filters”. While Razer says tests have shown its filters to achieve a particle filtration efficiency (PFE) of 95%, the entire mask (not just the filters) should block 95% of small particles and be cleared by regulators. to be called N95.

Razer declined to provide an official statement in response to questions from The edge. But in a thread on Saturday, the company tweeted that “The Razer Zephyr and Zephyr Pro are not medical devices, respirators, surgical masks or personal protective equipment (PPE) and are not intended for use. in medical or clinical environments. “

This isn’t the first controversial piece of information Razer has edited on the Zephyr page. December 10, 2021 (via The Internet Archive Wayback Machine), he posted a new version of the page that removed his claim in the FAQ section that compared the Zephyr to a medical device, respirator, surgical mask, and PPE, which initially said the Zephyr “offers the same functionality and adequate protection due to its 99% BFE rating. It now says “Razer Zephyr is not a medical device, respirator, surgical mask, or personal protective equipment (PPE) and is not intended for use in medical or clinical environments.” “

Saturday January 8, Razer posted a blog to its site called “The Science Behind Razer Zephyr” which provides the results of every test the company has submitted to the Zephyr (whether or not relevant to the subject of filtration) before marketing. He posted an update (without any mention of what has changed) to this article today, January 10, which incorporated elements of the above statement, including explicitly stating that the Zephyr and Zephyr Pro are “not certified N95 masks,” as well as removing every mention of “N95” that was found in the original blog post published on Saturday.

Image: Razer

The takeaway from the test results leaked by the blog is that while Razer has subjected the Zephyr to several internal tests, it still needs an external review from expert agencies before people can be sure it. has been subjected to rigorous evaluation. This extends to the Zephyr Pro, a version of the mask that adds voice amplification that is also set to release in 2022.

When the Zephyr was originally announced at CES 2021 as Project Hazel, we noted that it lacked “none of the necessary approvals and certifications from the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ”.

When Razer launched Zephyr in late October 2021, it still hadn’t gotten enough testing to qualify as PPE, and we noticed the company was calling it an “air purifier” in their marketing (while touting N95 quality filters). Shortly after, my colleague Nicole Wetsman and I interviewed Razer’s Jeff Sandoval at our On The Verge event, and Nicole insisted on Zephyr’s lack of clearances from agencies like the FDA and NIOSH (at 9:04 a.m.).