Apple’s crack engineering and design teams – those who bestow the latest iPhones and Macs upon the world – have developed a new face mask for the company’s staff and retail employees to sport.
Bloomberg reports that the protective Apple Face Mask – yes, it has a name that isn’t iMask – was created in-house and offers three layers of filtration for incoming and outgoing particles.
The report cites Apple instructions to employees that the mask can be washed and reused five times. Apple reporter Mark Gurman writes:
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.
Until now Apple employees had been wearing cloth masks, but these will be replaced by the new Apple Face Mask within the next couple of weeks, according to the report. The image, shared by MacRumors, calls it “light, comfortable and effective at keeping you and others safe.”
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Apple developed the mask in order to ease the demand on medical supplies for those on the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the company conducting “careful research and testing to find the right materials to filter the air properly,” the Bloomberg report says.
Elsewhere, Apple had another mask developed by a third-party, Washington-based Gallaudet University. It’s called the ClearMask. It is the first transparent surgical mask to win approval from the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.
Whether Apple will start offering the masks to the public moving forwards remains to be seen, but right now they’re only for employees.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
