Ible has revealed a wearable air purifier with built-in headphones at CES 2022. Part of its Airvida range, the Airvida E1 is able to purify the air around you while letting you enjoy your favorite music through a pair of noise-canceling headphones. On the paper, the concept sounds ridiculous, but the Airvida E1 may actually be bizarrely brilliant.
Over the last two years, we’ve all become far more conscious of the quality of the air we breathe. Having access to properly purified air has never been more vital. To this end, several companies, including Ible Airvida, have seen increased demand for wearable air purifiers. The problem with these devices is that they look pretty odd while in use and serve only a single function.
The Airvida E1’s smart integration of portable air purification technology and noise-canceling headphones creates a multifunctional device that wouldn’t look out of the ordinary on a packed commuter train or in line at the grocery store. We perhaps wouldn’t go as far as to call it a fashionable device, but it’s definitely a very functional accessory.
Making use of Ible’s Breathing Pathway Eco Ion Technology, the Airvida E1 reportedly produces "negative ions around the user’s facial area which can disrupt and breakdown coronavirus’ carbon-hydrogen bond and inactivate them immediately.” These negative ions also attach themselves to airborne particles making them heavier and therefore fall onto the ground rather than being inhaled by the wearer.
This unique purification system won an Innovation Award at CES 2020. It’s not just useful for fending off airborne viruses either, it’s also proven to help with seasonal allergies. The Airvida E1 could be a nifty device to have around your neck all year round.
The Airvida E1 weighs 42 grams and sports a battery life of 8 hours with both the air-purifying function and the headphones in use. Without listening to music the battery life jumps up to more than 30 hours. You can also place the E1 on a supplied stand which turns it into a mini desktop air purifier for your home or office.
It’s easy to dismiss the Airvida E1 as a novelty item. The elevator pitch of an air purifier with built-in headphones did initially have us scratching our heads, but its surprising usefulness quickly becomes apparent once you actually stop to consider its functionality. We do have our doubts about the quality of the supplied noise-canceling headphones though; we’re not convinced the Airvida E1 will be appearing on our best headphones roundup anytime soon.
No release date or pricing information has been announced yet, but the Ible Airvida M1 (a wearable air purifier sans the headphones) retails for around $175 so we expect the Airvida E1 will cost around $200. We’ll update this article once we have more details. In the meantime, make sure to bookmark our CES 2022 live blog for the latest brilliant and bizarre announcements.
