Face masks have become a regular sight since the coronavirus pandemic began to affect the world in full-force earlier this year. Companies likeMicrosoft have created branded masks for games likeHaloto help raise money for personal protective equipment (PPE), and now it seems tech giantApplehas gone a step further by using its designers to create a unique mask that won’t affect PPE supplies for essential workers.
Appleis rolling out two kinds of face masks for its corporate and retail employees, according to a report from Bloomberg today. The first is a reusable Apple Face Mask developed by its Engineering and Industrial Design teams in Cupertino, California, using three layers to filter particles and adjustable strings. The second is an FDA-cleared transparent surgical mask called ClearMask that is meant to help with deaf or hard of hearing customers.
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The Apple Face Masks will begin to go out to staff over the next two weeks, according to Bloomberg, while ClearMask has been tested by employees in three different stores — though Apple is purportedly looking to create its own transparent masks. It has previously been using standard cloth masks for employees, and offering customers “basic surgical masks.” This report comes soon afterApple announced its annual hardware reveal event, which is set to take place on June 16, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. PDT.
It’s currently unclear exactly what Apple will be debuting at its event, but some guesses based on its “Time Flies” theme include a new model of the Apple Watch or potentially a new iPad. Last year, the company also revealed services like the Apple Card and Apple Arcade, which is continuing to seenew games like WayFarward’sMarble Knights.
The ongoing pandemic is still taking its toll in large parts of the world, and particularly in the United States. After months of lockdowns, venues like movie theaters are beginning to reopen, and theNational Association of Theater Owners put out ‘CinemaSafe’ guidelinesto try and protect moviegoers — including mandatory mask wearing (except under specific circumstances) and strict social distancing.
If nothing else, working on ways to ensure there is a better PPE supply chain for essential workers is a good PR move for Apple given its recent troubles with Epic Games. At the end of August,Apple suspended Epic Games' App Store developer accountamid a back-and-forth legal case resulting fromFortnitebreaking in-app purchase guidelines set byApple.
