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Razer Zephyr Pro with voice amplification unveiled at CES 2022

The next iteration of the Razer air purification mask will feature voice amplification.

Ozzie Mejia

January 5, 2022 10:01 AM

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With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to rage on, the need for masks has never been higher. Razer jumped into this space last year with the Razer Zephyr, a fully wearable mask with air purification. During this week's CES event, the company unveiled the next step for the popular mask, revealing the Razer Zephyr Pro. What does this new mask have that the previous model doesn't? The answer is voice amplification.

The Razer Zephyr Pro will have all of the features of its predecessor. The main difference is that each side of the exhalation grill will house speakers, while a microphone is housed along the inside casing. This will allow for clearer voice projection, up to 60 decibels, while using the mask.

"Wait a minute!" you, the attentive reader, may be exclaiming. "Wasn't the original Razer Zephyr supposed to have a voice amplification feature?"

Points to you, attentive reader, for recalling one of the features first touted with the former Project Hazel. Voice amplification was indeed on the agenda for the original mask model. Unfortunately, it ultimately wasn't meant to be. So, what changed?

"It was really a timeline thing; a timeline and a price thing," a Razer PR representative explained to Shacknews. "We wanted to make Zephyr as accessible to as many people as possible and hitting that $99 price point wasn't possible with the additional parts: speakers, microphones, additional milling in terms of the speaker grill, and just time of testing and getting all the speaker sets right. In terms of price and overall testing, it wasn't possible to get a consumer-facing product to market in the timeline that we wanted to with Zephyr."

With Zephyr's success on the market, Razer concluded that iteration on the product would be worth their while. As supply drops continue to sell out quickly, the company decided to move forward with the voice amplification features. Outside of that addition, the Zephyr Pro's design will be largely unchanged and still feature N95-grade filters, dual intake fans, a soft silicone face seal with a dual strap, and Razer Chroma RGB lighting.

Of course, as the PR rep's statement implied, adding voice amplification means an increase in overall cost. The Razer Zephyr Pro will sell for $149.99 USD by itself, while a full Starter Pack with 33 sets of replaceable N95-grade filters will go for $199.99. There is currently no timetable for release, but Razer is hopeful to have this out on the market before the end of 2022. We'll have our eye out for any additional information, so keep it on Shacknews for the latest updates. Also, be sure to keep an eye on our CES 2022 topic for any breaking news.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?