Apple Design Teams Develop Special Face Masks for Employees 42
Apple has developed two types of masks that the company is beginning to distribute to corporate and retail employees to limit the spread of Covid-19. From a report: The masks -- called the Apple Face Mask and Apple ClearMask -- are the first developed in-house by the Cupertino, California-technology giant for its staff. The company previously created a different face shield for medical workers and distributed millions of other masks across the health-care sector. Apple told staff members that the masks were developed by the Engineering and Industrial Design teams, the same groups that work on devices such as the iPhone and iPad. The Apple Face Mask is made up of three layers to filter incoming and outgoing particles. It can be washed and reused as many as five times, the company told employees. In typical Apple style, the mask looks unique with large coverings on the top and bottom for the wearer's nose and chin. It also has adjustable strings to fit around a person's ears. Apple told staff that the masks were designed and manufactured completely by Apple. The company, which confirmed the news, said it conducted careful research and testing to find the right materials to filter the air properly while not disrupting the supply of medical personal protective equipment.
Watch out for the fine print... (Score:1)
If you look real closely, you can see that Apple expressly forbids people from playing Fornite while wearing their Apple Face Mask. And if you wash it more than 5 times, you can expect Apple to sue you for breach of contract.
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And if you do get sick, you have to pay Apple 30% of your hospital bill.
No Picture? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:No Picture? (Score:4, Interesting)
Maybe it's the one pictured here?
Apple Designs Custom Face Mask for Corporate and Retail Employees [macrumors.com]
Typical Apple. Throw away products (Score:2, Insightful)
Ooooohhh. A whole five times. Be still my beating heart.
I have a double-walled cloth mask which can be washed countless times and still function as a barrier. KISS is truly dead. Can't wait to see the truckloads of these masks being hauled off to landfills just like Apple's phones.
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Typical Apple level of concern for its workers, which is to say not nearly enough.
Don't get me wrong, it's great that they're trying to do something for their retail workers, because there's not really a great way to handle retail without workers, but the difference in corporate culture between how Apple and the rest of the area are handling the pandemic is kind of alarming:
Most other tech companies: You can work from home for the next year.
Apple: Let's pull a few workers away from designing products for
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Most other tech companies: You can work from home for the next year.
Most other tech companies don't have retail workers. And Amazon, who has workers in warehouses and makes deliveries, is known to treat them like shit. Didn't even tell people when coworkers were known to be infected.
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Most other tech companies: You can work from home for the next year.
Most other tech companies don't have retail workers.
Like I said in the second paragraph, I'm glad they're doing something for their retail workers. My concern is when I see the words "and corporate" in the article. The idea that their management might even be considering bringing back tens of thousands of people into what are mostly open plan or cube farm offices is just plain nuts. There's no reason for them to be working from the office right now that could possibly be compelling enough to warrant the risk.
And yet, in the first few months of the pandemi
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Well, I hope they're made of recyclable or biodegradable materials. Or, in true Apple fashion, built a disassembly robot.
In all seriousness, my cloth masks are almost-infinitely washable. Still, I don't deal with deaf or hard-of-hearing people. I've never thought about it before, but they must really be affected by all this.
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Your stupid comment about "being reused five times": I bought lots of single use masks. I care as much about the environment as you, that is not at all (but you care about making stupid comments about Ap
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I have a double-walled cloth mask which can be washed countless times and still function as a barrier.
Sure, but every time you wash it the effectiveness changes. Maybe it gets better, maybe worse, depending on how much material it loses to lint, what your water temperature was, etc. Apple has no doubt come up with some kind of standard and then tested their masks to make sure they meet it, and still meet it after being washed. Their masks are almost certainly more effective than your cloth mask, which is typically considered to be somewhere between a bandana (worthless) and a medical grade mask. I'd suspect
Since this is Apple... (Score:1)
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I get that you're angry about something and trying to make some sort of point, but you're being a little unclear about what you actually mean.
TL;DR wat.
Re: Since this is Apple... (Score:1)
I get that you're angry about something
Is using an iPhone not reason enough??
Re: Since this is Apple... (Score:1)
Totalitarian cocksuckers; just today I noticed my iOS keyboard refusing to recognize the words "bitching" or "Samsung" (lol).
Fuck Apple and their so-called leadership with a tractor trailer- anything smaller and their asses are just going to enjoy it.
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Oh ok yeah I understand now and agree.
ClearMask = QuickDraw function? (Score:1)
And in true Apple fashion (pardon the pun) (Score:5, Funny)
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Apple: breathe different! (Score:5, Funny)
This thread is . . . (Score:1)
amirite?
Re: (Score:2)
https://forums.macrumors.com/t... [macrumors.com]
YW
And it's available (Score:3)
And it's available for purchase right now in the Apple Store for $49.99
{thunderous applause}
Half news for the sake of brimming you up (Score:2)
They have two masks, the second is "the ClearMask, is the first FDA-cleared surgical mask that is completely transparent". This would indeed be something new and definitely needed for people who need to read lips.
Honestly, I have little doubt that some serious R&D could help a LOT with masks. Current masks usually are just crap. I don't care who does it.
Mask... (Score:4, Interesting)
Core issues has been plaguing dust masks for decades by now.
Movement of jaw affects the fit
Nose seal do wears or bends. Adjustable straps would be a waste on single use masks, are is either too tight or too loose.
Moisture seeps in after 2-3 hours of harder usage, even faster with mouth breathing
Vents only stop buildup of moisture.
Many of the common materials like cotton has terrible ability to drain moisture.
Its often hard to tell if the mask is tight or not, unless you are wearing glasses.
Higher filtration means its harder to breath. You notice this quite fast if you have to wear single use filters for work when using some kind of vibration power tool and you drown in dust, and you get slightly lightheaded from breathing too hard for too little air.
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LG is releasing a battery powered mask. The battery runs a little air pump that assists your breathing while also filtering the air.
Depending on price it could be quite interesting.
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There are forced air face shield respirators which do that sort of thing on the market already. I wish I had bought some before this all cracked off, alas I only had surgical masks (they were cheap.) Still going through those, and also using cloth masks.
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Yeah, apparently the LG ones are pretty much like normal surgical style masks but with the pump that assists your breathing rather than just forcing air in. As in it actually pumps in or out as you inhale and exhale.
Apple Design (Score:2)
The Apple Mask isn't original either (Score:1)
Seems like they've copied a mask design that's been around for quite a while. https://www.maskhave.com/produ... [maskhave.com] with a (hilarious) video from 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Not that Apple copies anybody...
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Any Apple employees (Score:2)
who subsequently come down with covid-19 after wearing the masks will be told that they were holding them wrong.
$0.10 China made mask ... (Score:2)
Apple will sell for $5
The ClearMask is only a face shield (Score:2)
The ClearMask is only a face shield. There is no filtration. Unfiltered air inlet and exhaust is along the sides of your chin.
This is an improvement on the current face shield, but it does not replace the function of most filter masks or a respirator mask.
The ClearMask might stifle spread from a cough from the wearer, but only directly ahead. There is still going to be a viral cloud around the face of the wearer after a cough.
The ClearMask provides absolutely zero protection to the wearer from the viral
A clear mask shows your mouth (Score:2)
I read that the clear mask will likely much appreciated by deaf and / or lip reading people. Apple usually takes into account people with disabilities in their product design.
(People with disabilities == all people from one point in their life...)
Introducing the new Apple iMask | $299 (Score:1)
Clear mask is safe and useful (Score:1)
Special face masks (Score:2)
Apple special face masks for employees are carefully engineered to muffle screams. Apple: shut up, it just works.