How the new AirPop Active+ smart face mask monitors your breathing and air quality

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The new AirPop Active+ Halo smart face mask monitors your breathing while protecting you from pollutants, and it measures the quality of the air you’re breathing in.

How the new AirPop Active+ smart face mask monitors your breathing and air quality
(Image credit: AirPop)

Smart face masks will soon become commonplace if the likes of AirPop and LG have anything to do with it. Debuting at CES 2021, the new AirPop Active+ smart face mask with Halo sensor is designed to not only help slow the spread of the coronavirus, but to monitor the quality of the air you’re breathing in, both indoors and outside. The AirPop Active+ works with a companion smartphone app (iOS, Android) to give you better insight into your respiratory health, as well as the quality of the air you’re breathing in.

Of course, face coverings and reusable fabric face masks are essential to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, major symptoms of which include a new cough, fatigue, and a fever, which can be monitored using a digital thermometer. Certainly a step-up from these more humble masks, AirPop’s new smart face mask for exercise and general use is fitted with something called a Halo sensor. This captures - in real-time - information about your breathing behavior, breathing cycles, and the level of pollutants the AirPop mask blocks each time you wear it. 

When used in Active Mode, as you would when jumping on a treadmill in the gym or exercising in a busy outdoor space, the AirPop Active+ tracks your breaths per minute and the quality of those breaths. This data can then be shared with Apple HealthKit, giving you insight into your respiratory health.

The AirPop Active+ smart face mask also measures the quality of the air you’re breathing, whether you’re indoors or outside, giving you a real-time indication of how polluted the air is and what that means for your health. Ongoing coronavirus pandemic aside, air quality has become one of the biggest challenges to global wellness, making these types of wearable air monitors, and the likes of the LG PuriCare wearable air purifier, much more relevant.

A woman with dark hair and an orange jacket wears the AirPop Active+, in white, while out in New York City during the coronavirus pandemic

(Image credit: AirPop)

AirPop Active+ smart face mask: Price and features

The Halo sensor built into the AirPop Active+ also tells you when the snap-in particle filter needs replacing. AirPop’s filters are designed to block >99% PM0.3, including dust, allergens, particulate matter, and microbial particles. You get four replaceable filters with the Active+ smart face mask, and each filter is printed with a QR code to be scanned by the AirPop app before being placed inside the mask.

The AirPop Active+ is priced $149.99/£149.99, and will be available via the AirPop website this month, with additional online retailers to follow. As mentioned above, the mask is designed for use with Android and iOS devices, connecting to them via Bluetooth technology. The Active+ smart face mask is powered by a single coin-cell battery designed to last six months on average, so you won’t have to worry about replacing the battery that often. 

The AirPop Active+ is made with a 360-degree sealing to prevent any particles from entering the mask, and the entire covering, including the integrated Halo sensor, is machine washable and able to be popped in with your normal laundry. AirPop has used a medical-grade, soft touch membrane on the mask for enhanced comfort, adopting a 3D dome structure to keep the filter core off your face for further comfort during longer periods of wear. 

The four replaceable filters you get free with the mask are good to last for 40 hours each, so you will need to purchase additional filters if you plan on making the AirPop Active+ mask your main face covering – and at such a high price tag for a mask, we’d certainly want to get our money’s worth too. 

Can't wait for the Active+ and need to buy a new face mask today? These retailers have plenty or disposable masks and reusable, machine-washable face coverings in stock for home delivery: 

Claire Davies
Claire Davies

Claire is Health and Wellness Editor at Top Ten Reviews and covers all aspects of health, wellbeing and personal care. With over 17 years' experience as a qualified journalist, writer and editor, Claire has worked across some of Future's most prestigious, market-leading brands. Due to past struggles with insomnia, she is particularly passionate about the role quality sleep plays in our physical and mental health, and loves helping readers to sleep better. Claire is always keen to hear from brands regarding products and services that can help readers feel healthy, happy and empowered.