Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Have you always wanted to have a phone conversation without others listening? HAS CES 2026I saw a solution to this privacy problem, the Mutalk 2, a portable microphone that muted my voice to the people around me. It also made me look like a cyberpunk platypus.
From the Japanese company Shiftall, the Mutalk 2 is a $200 accessory that you wear over your mouth and nose, sealed with a rubber seal, with a plastic oval extending a few inches. It connects to phones or devices via Bluetooth or a 3.5mm wired jack. In a demonstration, I wore the Mutalk and chatted on the phone with someone 10 feet away from me who could hear me clearly on the call, but could otherwise only pick up the faintest mumbles.
There’s no getting around the weirdness of the Mutalk, and I’d expect to raise my eyebrows if I ever wore it in public, because strapping one on made me feel like I was wearing a gas mask. To be fair to Shiftall, I don’t have the design skills to suggest a better look for a microphone that incorporates technology to muffle my voice. Certainly, I could imagine many reasons to use it in the comfort of one’s own home, like chatting with friends online while gaming late at night without worrying about waking up roommates, partners, or babies.
The Mutalk 2 can be worn with straps secured around the head or simply held over the nose and mouth while speaking.
From my brief time with the Mutalk 2, it seems to work as expected, and $200 isn’t prohibitive compared to the prices of other microphones. Although it looks undeniably strange, its design is more functional than exotic. After adjusting its rubber straps that went around my head, the accessory felt comfortable enough on my face and was light enough that it didn’t feel like it was dragging during a longer conversation. The rubber seal that covers the mouth and nose is removable, making cleaning easier.
If you want private conversations while you’re out in public, there may be less intrusive ways to do this than the Mutalk 2, such as a laryngeal microphone. But Shiftall’s design has other benefits, like blocking lip-reading. And it’s worth pointing out that some people would love to sport this cyberpunk platypus look. I mean, people were lining up to buy the Razer Zephyr RGB Mask – Some people embrace aspects of the cutting-edge technological future that are different from everything else.
