Razer’s Zephyr mask lands them in regulatory hot water | TechCrunch Minute

Is it just me or does it seem like a lot Of companies are shipping products that Don't quite work yeah we got to talk About the mess over at Razer so Razer is The company that's best well known for Its glowing gaming gear and it's in Trouble because it trying to dabble in Cool techy PPE so back in 2021 Razer Dropped the Zephyr face mask and the Mask was said to be in 95 grade and cost About a 100 bucks for anyone who wanted To look like Bane going out to a rave While in public recall of course that 2021 was the height of the covid-19 Pandemic but as YouTuber naami woo first Pointed out the mask actually didn't Filter route 95% of particles from the Air as promised yikes so Razer took down Any mention of the grade however that Was too little and too late the FTC Alleges that Razer made misleading Statements about the mask on social Media and claims the company didn't have The product properly tested in response To all that the FTC settlement requires Razer to to pay a penalty of $100,000 plus the government intends on Getting the million dollars worth of Masks that it sold back to Consumers the Money in other words the settlement also Bans the company for making quote covid Related health misrepresentations and Other quote unsubstantiated Health Claims which I don't think Razer is in

Any danger of going back and doing again But it's still pretty embarrassing to be Told that out loud in public if you Purchase one of these masks good news You're probably going to get your money Back but it is unacceptable that that Process was not followed in this case We're not talking about neon gaming mice Or RBG keyboards this was masks during a Pandemic it's a pretty high stakes thing To get right and that's why this Situation matters and why we're talking About it even if the business effort Really only generated around a million Dollar in revenue for the company and Given that Razer had $1.6 billion in Revenue back during its fiscal 2021 it's A drop in the bucket but still it's a Very public and embarrassing mistake on What was at best a side project but There is more a foot here much has been Made of the reviews of new AI Hardware We talked about it on the show devices Like the Humane AI pen and the rabbit R1 With many reviewers saying that the Products just seem to be a little bit Unfinished now there is a difference Between the razor mess and the AI device Rush or even the pedal issues we've seen On the cybertruck but I wonder if they All add up to something to say about how Hardware is built today in era when Software updates can shift quickly Building at top a more basic piece of

Code the way that people are often Taught to build just may not convert Perfectly to the world of Hardware now There is the old saying in startup land That when it comes to building tech Companies Hardware is hard and yeah That's true there is a reason why There's only one Apple after all the Thing that I keep coming back to though Is that you just can't MVP Hardware that Is for General sale you start very basic And then expand but that concept doesn't Always quite trans translate to Hardware Does it you're shipping something Physical which can't be updated in Precisely the same way as an Over-the-air software update so to close I love gaming gear I have a small Fleet Of mechanical keyboards and I've owned a Number of Razor products over the years The company might do well to stick to What it does best and for the AI Hardware startups well I'm really Excited about the second generation of Your gear which might have been better Off as the first generation more Tomorrow