
Apple Faceshield - tosh
https://support.apple.com/faceshield
======
gowld
Context: [https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/5/21209270/apple-face-
shield...](https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/5/21209270/apple-face-shields-
masks-covid-19-coronavirus)

“Our first shipment was delivered to Kaiser hospital facilities in the Santa
Clara Valley this past week, and the feedback from doctors was very positive,”
Cook says. “These pack flat, one hundred per box. Each shield is assembled in
less than two minutes and is fully adjustable. We’re sourcing materials and
manufacturing in the US and China.”

Apple plans to ship more than one million shields by the end of this week and
a further million each week after that. So far the company has been working to
distribute them across the US, but plans to expand elsewhere soon. “Our focus
is on unique ways Apple can help, meeting essential needs of caregivers
urgently and at a scale the circumstances require,” Cook says.

~~~
woofie11
I was hoping everyone in the US might be able to buy one.

Ideally, they'd be cheap enough for municipalities to buy and distribute.

~~~
docbrown
> I was hoping everyone in the US might be able to buy one.

This burst of PPE being produced in mass quantities are and were never meant
to go in the hands of the general public (i.e., non healthcare workers),
though. The general public does not need to be walking around with a full face
shield, that’ll be a waste of materials, time and money, unfortunately.

~~~
epicureanideal
Given that they probably would cost $1 to $5, and take almost no space to
store, it wouldn't be a terrible thing for people to have a few if they want
them. How many people have a $20 multi-tool that stays in a drawer somewhere?
Or some bags of rice "just in case" that end up getting thrown in the trash
after being forgotten about in the cabinet for 5 years?

It may not be a terrible thing if some percentage of people buy "unnecessary"
Personal Protective Equipment. It creates some distributed supply in case
something unexpected happens, even if under normal circumstances the equipment
is unused.

~~~
uxp
It's not about the money. PPE like face shields are specifically used during
procedures that involve significant bodily fluid, like intubation, which is
the process of pulling or pushing a tube down a patient's esophagus. Going to
to the grocery store does not require a shield.

Secondly disposable medical equipment, when used properly within a healthcare
environment, is extremely wasteful. For most consumable items used in a
hospital, they are covered in packaging with specific serial numbers and lot
numbers that allow reconciliation if it's found that the goods are not sterile
or have deficiencies. There is also a provenance or chain-of-command aspect
that allows attestation of safety throughout the entire supply chain. While we
might be talking about how to sterilize n95 masks, reuse face shields, and
asking for donations of PPE from the public right now during a pandemic, the
fact remains that in normal circumstances there is massive liabilities that
hospitals and clinics would be subjected to if they started sourcing
protective equipment from the public that could have been tampered with, may
be slightly used and broken, or otherwise could cause harm to the patient and
they'd be unable to identify the source of those resources. Everybody stocking
a "handful" of PPE isn't a scalable solution to maintain a national supply.

This is one reason why we pay federal taxes.

~~~
zbrozek
Stanford hospital, for example, throws away one N95 per patient doctor visit.
They are not sterilizing and reusing. So my friend who works there is using
many dozens of them per day. It seems like they could come up with material-
preserving procedures like sterilization, but they're not.

~~~
prostheticvamp
Because best data to date is that sterilization procedures damage the mask in
ways that render it unsafe.

When someone comes up with data finding a safe way to do so, the masks won’t
go in the trash. In the meantime, I’d you have the masks to spare, you
-should- be using them safely. Masks are pointless if you use them in a way
that will get you sick.

~~~
klipt
Says something about our society, though, that doctors at Stanford can use a
mask per chat "just in case", while just across the bay at Oakland Kaiser
nurses are working with multiple confirmed coronavirus patients on a single
mask...

~~~
lonelappde
It's says that some people can't resist spreading rumors and jumping to
conclusions. You have no idea how long standard docs are stretching masks.

~~~
Thorrez
zbrozek says his/her friend works at Stanford and says this. Is there a reason
to doubt this?

------
leipert
The Czech 3D Printer company Prusa has been on it for a while:
[https://www.prusa3d.com/covid19/](https://www.prusa3d.com/covid19/) and they
have been open-sourcing the design. You can print it on a 3D printer.

Based on that design (and others) makers in Germany have started organizing,
so that people can either request shields or supply shields. Organized on
Slack and into local distribution hubs. We hace started sharing supplies and
even got discounts from filament vendors:
[https://www.makervsvirus.org/en/](https://www.makervsvirus.org/en/)

Edit: Just wanted to share something related and not downplay Apple with this
comment. Would love if they'd opensource their designs ;)

~~~
gambler
What is the point of 3d printing something that clearly needs to be mass-
produced in great quantities? Maybe it "feels good", but it's just too slow.

I'm honestly not sure why people don't just use plastic food wrap as a cheap
improvised alternative for face shields. It's lightweight, readily available,
disposable, fits over any attire and does not restrict visibility.

~~~
blhack
Because it turns out you actually can 3D print some of these in mass
quantities. Some of the printers we are working with right now are producing
on the order of 10s of thousands of parts per day. And now, there are tool
shops in the US _right now_ cutting injection molds to make those parts in the
hundreds of thousands of parts per day.

~~~
ogre_codes
The kind of 3d printing Prusa does (and provided plans for) is a tabletop/
amateur printer, not something which can scale.

~~~
blhack
The 3D model absolutely can scale.

~~~
dugditches
Sure.

But for an equal amount of effort, raws and manpower you could get much more
out of traditional manufacturing, much quicker.

The product is a very simple stamp, with very simple dies with little wasted
material. Perfect for traditional production methods.

It's great people with machines are contributing to the effort, and
empowering/informing individuals to be able to do so as well. But it's just
done simpler traditionally.

~~~
blhack
This is all great in theory, but in reality there are hundreds of thousands of
these parts being delivered to hospitals right now, and they came from lots of
people with lots of 3D printers at their houses, hackerspaces, and printer
farms.

We can definitely talk about what would have been better and more efficient,
but in the meantime people need this stuff _today_.

~~~
ogre_codes
It's not a zero sum game.

It makes tons of sense for people with 3d printers to print as many as they
can now because they can get them in the hands of people _now_. But once
dedicated manufacturing comes online, that capability is going to be quickly
become irrelevant.

The comment I replied to seemed to suggest individuals were printing 10s of
thousands of these per day which is clearly not true. Thousands of individuals
are printing a few each day which is vastly different.

~~~
elsonrodriguez
> But once dedicated manufacturing comes online, that capability is going to
> be quickly become irrelevant.

You're right, but after this emergency all those production lines will be
retooled to things that are more profitable.

The upside is that this pandemic has basically created a grass roots
production network to fill gaps that will always exist in traditional
manufacturing.

If the next world-wide issue can be at least partially mitigated by small
plastic parts, that gap will again be filled by 3d printers, and we're all
better off for it.

------
762236
Where they describe how to sterilize it: DO NOT mix those chemicals together
(e.g., bleach + rubbing alcohol = chloroform).

~~~
Loughla
And while we're here, let's go ahead and get these others out for people to
read:

Bleach+vinegar = chlorine gas, Bleach+ammonia = chloramine, Bleach+rubbing
alcohol = chloroform

Just don't mix bleach with anything.

And while we're at it, don't mix hydrogen peroxide and vinegar, either.

~~~
csours
And before anyone gets big ideas about the chloroform, it is not pure
chloroform; it is generally contaminated by phosgene, which is truly terrible
stuff.

~~~
droopyEyelids
During a wasted youth I poured over hundreds of The Hardy Boys Casefiles,
where they'd receive and recover from a traumatic brain injury 3-5 nights a
week (getting "knocked out").

Thanks to your comment I now know the other nights, where they were not
rendered unconscious by blunt trauma, but rather through a rag of chloroform,
they were probably inhaling phosgene too.

Those boys were sure putting their futures at risk!

~~~
csours
Hah, same. Between The Hardy Boys and silly TV crime dramas I think a lot of
kids got the wrong impression about getting "knocked out". It turns out that
pretty much anything that can cause unconsciousness is also likely to cause
death or serious permanent injury.

~~~
brodie
But everyone knows a tap on the head causes instant unconsciousness!

------
mumblemumble
Pet peeve, that may not just be me idly nitpicking, since this is presumably
going to be used in a health care or healthcare-adjacent context where clear
communication matters:

Sterilization and disinfection are NOT the same thing. The products they
suggest using for "sterilization" are disinfecting agents. They will kill
most, but not all, microbes. Sterilization implies that you've eliminated
everything, and requires much more intense methods.

For example: 3% hydrogen peroxide is a disinfectant. The most similar
sterilant that I'm aware of is hydrogen peroxide gas plasma.

~~~
dawnerd
I don't think they are suggesting using it. They just state it's what they
tested the materials to be compatible with "It has been evaluated to be
compatible with the following chemicals:"

Since this is going to medical professionals they should already know how to
sterilize face shields and the like.

~~~
jazoom
Sterilisation is done in an autoclave. Not with any of those things listed.
The person you replied to is correct. The page is misleading. Source: I'm a
doctor.

~~~
Zenbit_UX
Not a doctor but it was quite clear to me reading the page that Apple was just
listing the various cleaning solutions that they know won't damage the shield.
I'm sure for legal reasons they won't dare tell doctors how to sterilize
medical equipment.

------
blhack
It’s interesting that this doesn’t include a top cover to prevent particulates
from coming down from above the shield.

We are working with several major hospital groups and that is something they
have asked for specifically. Actually they have requested we make
modifications to the various open source designs to accommodate that.

The hospitals we are working with wouldn’t accept this design.

This is also why the NIH approved design incorporated a top cover:
[https://3dprint.nih.gov/discover/3dpx-013359](https://3dprint.nih.gov/discover/3dpx-013359)

This was at great expense to efficiency of printing, but it was something that
was required for approval.

~~~
Yhippa
Thank you for sharing. I have many friends and family who work in the medical
field. I will see if I can get these printed for them.

------
dreamcompiler
Besides being Apple's CEO, Tim Cook is also possibly the best supply chain guy
on the planet (that's why he became Apple's CEO). I was hoping he would get
involved with pandemic supply chain issues, and now he has.

~~~
Zenbit_UX
It's quite nice to see some of the most talented minds in the tech private
sector work towards solving our medical needs, I know it will end with the
pandemic but part of me hopes it doesn't. The talent that's being monopolized
at companies like Apple and Tesla (making ventilators right now) could do a
lot of good for healthcare to everyone's benefit.

To be clear, I'm not talking about Cook or Elon, but the genius engineers
they've cultivated to work for them.

------
beders
Once you leave your apple politics behind, you could show some admiration for
the site itself:

Clear instructions, kick-ass animations.

I'd love to be able to afford support sites like this one.

------
rswail
Surgical/cotton masks protect _other_ people from your sneezing and breathing
out aerosolized virus.

N95 masks do the same, but also protect you from 95% of particles that meet
the following: "The particle size distribution will be a count median diameter
of 0.185±0.020 micrometer and a geometric standard deviation not exceeding
1.6. Each respirator filter unit will be challenged with an aerosol
concentration of 100 ± 10 mg/m3"

[https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/stps/pdfs/TEB-APR-
STP-0001-5...](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/stps/pdfs/TEB-APR-
STP-0001-508.pdf)

They are also tested for air flow rates to meet standard for inflow and
outflow.

They _don 't_ protect you against the virus, they protect you against the
aerosols that may be _carrying_ the virus.

Face shields are for protecting against liquids and solids, not particles.

They might be useful for people like checkout clerks, but a fixed screen would
do the same.

------
ProAm
Of course it's got no headphone jack.

~~~
arkanciscan
I hear it's only compatible with AAPL brand stethescopes too!

------
mrgrieves
This design is open-top. That allows sneezed droplets to fall in pretty
easily. Whether or not that's a problem will vary by hospital, but some of
them simply tape up the gap.

Aside from that, it's pretty nice.

~~~
bilbo0s
I don't know if you are aware, but in the healthcare world there is an
expected difference between, for instance, a surgical mask used in operating
rooms, and face shields used in facilities for procedures like intubation.

This is intended to be a face shield. I'm sure Apple could make surgical
masks? But that's not the most acute supply need at the moment.

~~~
kbaker
No, they are talking about a top cover like in the NIH-approved design:

[https://3dprint.nih.gov/discover/3dpx-013359](https://3dprint.nih.gov/discover/3dpx-013359)

------
awinder
I can hear Jony Ive describing it as "fashioned from a single continuous pane
of clear polymer" in my ears right now...

~~~
cellis
Machine precisioned, surgical grade...

~~~
ttul
For once, the term “surgical grade” actually matters...

~~~
dkural
Interestingly, on the page it says it is not for surgical use.

~~~
iuygyug
Most likely because it's not sterile.

------
fitzroy
Apple Releases Unaugmented Reality Headset

Analysts criticize lack of ports, launch titles, developer support.

~~~
insomniacity
I'm a developer, and I strongly support this :D

------
mjmasn
I just can't believe they missed the obvious 'iShield' (ie eye shield) name...
or maybe that didn't get past the PR department.

~~~
itake
"i" was Steve Job's thing and that era is over. Don't expect to see that
again.

~~~
exabrial
iDoubt they'll be renaming the iPhone anytime soon

~~~
what_ever
They are not naming any new thing as iSomething.

------
ALittleLight
This is awesome and I'm glad companies are doing things like this. It made me
interested if face shields are something I should add to my own PPE
collection.

Very interesting summary of the effectiveness of face shields [1]

"Utilizing a cough aerosol simulator loaded with influenza virus (aerosol
volume mean diameter of 8.5 μm) and a breathing simulator, Lindsley et al.[16]
reported 96% and 92% reductions in the risk of inhalational exposure
immediately after a cough for a face shield at distances of 18 in (46 cm) and
72 in (183 cm), respectively. Decreasing the aerosol size to 3.4 μm resulted
in the face shield blocking 68% of the inhalational exposure at 18 in (46 cm)
immediately after the cough and 23% over 1–30 min post-cough (during which
time the larger aerosol particles had settled out and droplet nuclei had
formed and remained airborne so that flow occurred more easily around the
edges of the face shield)"

Seems like a face shield may be very good protection for a short term exposure
- especially combined with a mask. e.g. walking by someone who coughs.

It also makes me wonder about a face shield fixed with something to blow
filtered air in from the top of the shield. I assume that would make it less
likely for air to come around the edges of the mask and possibly be more
comfortable than a mask. You could have a shield blowing a constant cool
breeze on you. Although this would have the disadvantage of needing batteries
and replacing filters.

1 -
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5015006/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5015006/)

~~~
seventytwo
There are things called PAPRs which are an enclosed version of what you’re
taking about.

~~~
ALittleLight
I was imagining more of a face shield with a filtered blower at the top
blowing air onto the shield. I imagine this would reduce the amount of air
coming around the edges of the shield and hopefully increase the effectiveness
of the shield. The PAPR definitely looks interesting, and surely more
effective, but it has the drawback of probably being less comfortable.

I find masks uncomfortable. My face or nose itches. My glasses fog up. I feel
like a face shield might be more comfortable.

~~~
brodie
If you’re looking at shields with fans you should just wear a mask. Take some
anti-itch medication or ointment beforehand.

Based on what medical professionals are saying, regular shields aren’t going
to protect you from normal aerosols. Social distancing is probably better for
people coughing near you. And buying shields is only going to increase
mortality for hospital workers.

Also, mild discomfort is a small price to pay compared to not infecting and
killing people around you.

~~~
ALittleLight
I don't think any of those things are true.

Shields have fairly promising results without fans. I cited some research to
that effect above. The problem with the shield is that air flows around it,
and that might be mitigated by fans blowing filtered air.

Social distancing is, axiomatically, not better for people coughing near me.
If someone is coughing near me then social distancing has already failed. If I
need to go to a grocery store, why shouldn't I consider wearing a shield?

Shields are made out of a sheet of plastic, which is not in short supply. If I
needed to buy any it would not "increase the mortality for hospital workers".

Regarding mild discomfort being a small price to pay, you've misunderstood.
The choice is not between mild discomfort and infecting people, but between
mild discomfort and comfort. Obviously the latter is preferable, hence my
curiosity about the shield and fans.

~~~
DanBC
PPE worn by members of the public going about their everyday life is a
premature optimisation, and it risks causing harm.

People wear PPE to protect them from specific things.

The specific thing you are protecting yourself from with Covid-19 is droplets
that have been coughed from infected people into the air, and the droplets
that then fall onto other surfaces.

So far we think these droplets are fairly large. There's a lot of talk in this
thread about aerosolised, and that's tricky because there's no real definition
of what that means. It's unlikely the drops caused by normal covid-19 coughing
meet that definition though. So, these large drops don't travel far (maybe
three metres), and they don't hang in the air for long before falling.

The most important thing you can do to protect yourself is stay at home. If
you must travel outside you need to carefully and frequently wash your hands
and maintain 2 metres distance from other people. Do not touch your face.

If you're doing that you'll get at best marginal protection from wearing PPE.
But you only get that protection if you're wearing PPE correctly, and more
importantly if you're taking it off correctly.

If you're not wearing PPE correctly you lose those marginal benefits. If you
take it off incorrectly you not only lose the benefits but you increase your
risk.

If PPE is causing you to take risky action, such as leaving your home when
you'd otherwise stay in, then again you're increasing your risk.

------
rediguanayum
Is there an Apple contact for medical providers to make requests to?

~~~
mike_d
faceshield@apple.com

~~~
rediguanayum
Thanks. Request sent.

------
mkchoi212
Damn, the animations are smooth. But wish they made a better version of the
adjustment mechanism. Feel like doctors will have a hard time adjusting the
bands with their gloves on.

Why not spend couple more cents and build in a clicking adjustment mechanism??

But overall, good job Apple :)

~~~
crooked-v
It's probably for overall logistic reasons, so the masks can pack flat and be
transported as efficiently as possible.

------
tosh
While this is not the first health related product from Apple I really hope
they will do more in this direction going forward.

------
bosswipe
I don't understand why Apple telling Chinese factories to build PPE is
helpful. There's massive worldwide demand for this stuff, the factories don't
need apple's help to figure that out.

~~~
Arn_Thor
Depends. Imagine you're an Apple supplier. You're making money hand over fist,
but to become a supplier to Apple you had to retool your entire factory floor,
retrain a bunch of employees and basically sink a lot of capital into meeting
the strict requirements. So you don't want to lose that contract. And you've
probably had to sign some sort of exclusivity agreement for the privilege. I
seem to recall that's not uncommon. So Apple's permission to manufacture other
stuff is pretty helpful.

------
ericzawo
I would love, love, love to read the internal debate Apple's marketing team
had around calling it "the Faceshield" as opposed to invoking first person
"Faceshield" much like how they always refer to it as "iPhone" not "an
iPhone."

------
voidmain0001
A carpenter friend came up with a similar design a couple of weeks ago. His
slides over the visor of a baseball cap. He sourced thin plastic sheets,
created a form, then made thousands, and sold them all to an org in B.C.,
Canada. Great minds think alike.

------
l33tfr4gg3r
...(APFS)

------
mkchoi212
Great that Apple is doing something to give back during these weird times.
Hope they keep their word and make sure that these face masks go to the places
that need them the most.

------
Balgair
Does anyone know of a central repo for these designs? Not just the face
shields, but the masks, the intubation boxes, the ventilator tubes, etc?

Also, is there a way that hospitals can make an 'order/ask'? Like: we need 5
ventilator splitters.

There is this tremendous spirit and untapped generousity, but blind donating
isn't the best, nor is getting a bunch of supplies that don't work.

Anyone trying to coordinate all this?

~~~
blhack
Yes here:
[https://www.facebook.com/groups/opensourcecovid19medicalsupp...](https://www.facebook.com/groups/opensourcecovid19medicalsupplies/)

------
aloknnikhil
I was hoping they would stamp the Apple Care logo on these. Kudos to Apple for
shipping these out so quickly at such scale.

------
runawaybottle
Wonder what Apple would make if this was WW3.

------
tlrobinson
Are face shields actually the best we can/should do? Most of the photos of
doctors in Wuhan I saw had them wearing goggles:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=wuhan+doctors&tbm=isch](https://www.google.com/search?q=wuhan+doctors&tbm=isch)

~~~
leipert
Faceshields are easier to mass produce I assume. Goggles are hard to come by.

------
bosky101
Related: 3d printing face shields
[https://www.thebetterindia.com/222322/coronavirus-mumbai-
sta...](https://www.thebetterindia.com/222322/coronavirus-mumbai-
startup-3d-printing-face-mask-shield-innovation-covid19-india-tan42/)

~~~
pandler
Cool to see more news from Mumbai. I've been following a close friend of mine
(also in Mumbai) on various social media as he works on his goal of
fabricating "100,000 M-19 Face Shields for India" in his maker space.

[https://www.makersasylum.com/covid19/](https://www.makersasylum.com/covid19/)

Their open source face shield designs, which include different materials:
[https://github.com/MakersAsylumIndia/Covid-19](https://github.com/MakersAsylumIndia/Covid-19)

------
jasoneckert
As I read this post for the Apple Face Shield on support.apple.com, my
girlfriend looked over my shoulder and said "Hmm. Well, it has a better
keyboard than the MacBook Pro."

I thought this was too funny not to share.

~~~
notduncansmith
That’s a great spin on an old classic:
[https://xkcd.com/528/](https://xkcd.com/528/)

------
xyst
For a second, I thought Apple was actually making these:
[https://i.redd.it/u0za766t3ul41.jpg](https://i.redd.it/u0za766t3ul41.jpg)

------
H8crilA
Can someone explain to me why is Apple making this type of stuff?

~~~
Octoth0rpe
1) Because they _can_. They have the manufacturing connections to quickly
connect the needed pieces

2) Because they have the spare cash to spin this up very quickly.

3) Because they want to help (or at a minimum, look like they're helping).

Are there any reasons why they _shouldn't_ be making this kind of stuff? Other
companies also meet all 3 of those conditions, and I think we should be glad
(note: I'm saying 'glad' and not 'grateful') that any of them are doing this.

~~~
scarface74
What other American company has the logistic and design know how that Apple
has to make hundreds of millions devices?

~~~
rubidium
GM, Ford, GE, Johnson & Johnson, Nike, 3M, Eli Lilly, Cummins, ... I could
keep going. Maybe not all have it to the same degree as Apple, but are
sufficient to make a face shield.

Lot's of companies could do this. I'm glad Apple is giving it a go.

~~~
mcginleyr1
We (Nike) are [https://news.nike.com/news/nike-ppe-face-shields-
covid-19-su...](https://news.nike.com/news/nike-ppe-face-shields-
covid-19-support)

------
danielovichdk
Apple will continue to sell these after the crisis. With a fat Apple logo on
it and the asian people will buy them for sure.

It will be a fashion wearable. No doubt.

Well thought of from Apple

------
hkiely
What specific assembly line is Apple dedicating to the PPE?

------
bArray
It's simple enough to work well, cheap to produce, can be transported easily -
very cool.

Can we expect a ventilator machined from a block of aluminum next?

------
agumonkey
I don't know if apple came up with the simple design, but it seems that you
could make that with any plastic bottle and a lace.

------
lenkite
I wish someone would explain why we does it have a top and bottom gap - isn't
that a severe vulnerability ?

------
adamqureshi
Anyone one know if they open sourced the design spec? I'd like to make a few
with some people i know. Thank you.

~~~
psteinweber
I don't know. But someone posted this in a previous comment, maybe it helps:

> The Czech 3D Printer company Prusa has been on it for a while:
> [https://www.prusa3d.com/covid19/](https://www.prusa3d.com/covid19/) and
> they have been open-sourcing the design. You can print it on a 3D printer.

------
beeforpork
The simplicity of this is amazing, particularly the forehead band. Exact
dimensions would be nice to copy this.

------
qwerty456127
Where do I buy this? Seems a nice gift for apple fans (I just hope it doesn't
cost like a Mac Pro).

------
person_of_color
I’m looking for anyone requiring 3d printed face shields in Australia. Please
reply with your details!

------
m3kw9
One of my fantasy is to imagine how Apple would design these things out of
their regular zone.

------
TooSmugToFail
Is there a file that can be downloaded so it can be laser cut from plastic
sheets?

------
briefcomment
Is this significantly less effective than a normal surgical mask because of
the large gaps?

~~~
stellar678
Given that it covers the eyes, seems better than a surgical mask.

Surgical masks aren't really filtering anything microscopic that's floating in
the air, just blocking spit and other macro stuff.

~~~
jhweoiru
Wrong. Surgical masks block about 75% of small particles, N95 respirators
block 95%+.

------
klohto
I’m sad that even though this unique design was done and put online for anyone
to print by Prusa, he is hardly mentioned now. On top of that, the design is
already commercialized.

EDIT: I see now that the design is different, you’re right

~~~
mhb
I was curious, so I looked at the Prusa design. The Apple design has enough
additional cleverness that it's quite a stretch to call them the same.

The main difference is that it doesn't require 3D printing which is obviously
a deal-breaker for the quantity needed. By incorporating the clear plastic as
a structural element, they eliminated a piece from the design. The bottom
piece is also eliminated.

Altogether more elegant and more useful than the Prusa design.

~~~
systemvoltage
I wish media would stop tooting how amazing "3D Printing" is. It is just _one_
of the ways of manufacturing. IMO, it is a poor way to do anything besides
home hobby projects (there are a few medical exceptions). It takes 12+ hours
to print anything useful. Yet media loves talking about 3D printing.

For anyone who has worked in product design and manufacturing, it is one thing
to be able to make a few prototypes (which is where 3D printing shines), and
another challenge to make 5 million of those prototypes per week. It is
monumentally difficult to produce anything in high volume.

I wish the media would talk about many other amazing manufacturing
technologies - injection molding (20 seconds a part!), die cast aluminium,
water jet cutting, laser cutting, metal stamping, and machining. These are
equally amazing technologies that make the world tick...yet 3D printing gets
disproportionately amount of attention. Mold making alone is a topic of insane
complexity and engineering challenges.

~~~
catalogia
> _IMO, it is a poor way to do anything besides home hobby projects (there are
> a few medical exceptions)._

It's good for various sorts of low-volume production, particularly
prototyping. But yes, the hype about 3d printing putting factories out of
business is very silly.

~~~
systemvoltage
Yep, if a hospital has a couple of 3D printers donated to them, by all means,
make _something_. I am mostly concerned with the coverage from the media.

Here are a few articles:

[https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/health/librarian-3d-printing-...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/health/librarian-3d-printing-
coronavirus-trnd/index.html)

[https://www.foxnews.com/science/coronavirus-3d-printing-
vent...](https://www.foxnews.com/science/coronavirus-3d-printing-ventilator-
capacity)

[https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/coronavirus/art...](https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/coronavirus/article_b0723192-784b-11ea-
ad6a-b396592a6299.html)

[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-
coronavirus-3d-pri...](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-
coronavirus-3d-printing-volunt/3d-printers-forge-face-shields-for-fight-
against-the-coronavirus-idUSKBN21L1EU)

[https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/03/27/950240/3d-printi...](https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/03/27/950240/3d-printing-
coronavirus-covid-19-medical-supplies-devices/)

And NYTimes:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=nytimes+3d+printing+coronavi...](https://www.google.com/search?q=nytimes+3d+printing+coronavirus&oq=nytimes+3d+printing+coronavirus)

It's cool but I am cynical that media loves talking about 3D printing because
it generates more viewership; no one wants to read an article "Decades old
technology of injection molding is still the best way to make high volume
parts during this pandemic".

------
schappim
What software would have been used to do the animations on this page?

------
pazimzadeh
Cool, now can we can an Apple designed pill?
[https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6391/915](https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6391/915)

About the size of an Airpod stem. Thank you!

------
j0p
Why did they not name it 'iShield'. Seems appropriate.

------
btbuildem
Wow, this is the simplest design I've seen yet. Bravo!

------
Apocryphon
Good on them for helping fight the problem, but there's definitely a dystopian
sci-fi trope of a familiar brand creating products that only exist because the
world is in a disaster.

Sort of like this:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4lS9poHvpU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4lS9poHvpU)

~~~
pell
Oh wow.

------
arkanciscan
How much will these sell for on eBay in 10+ years?

------
rabuse
Off-topic, but on the subject of Apple. FaceID is a nightmare to work with,
while wearing a mask. The numeric input delay, after trying to open your phone
for the 100th time, gets old.

~~~
pvg
Turn the autolock off when you go outside, keep the phone unlocked. You can
turn it back on when you're done, it's a single prefs switch. And change your
lock screen image to 'REMAIN INDOORS'.

~~~
fragmede
Toggling that off requires disabling Apple Pay, and turning it back on
requires re-adding cards to Apple Pay in order to use them.

~~~
pvg
You're thinking of something else. I mean specifically 'auto lock', the thing
where the phone locks by itself after a timeout. It does not require turning
off pay, changing PINs, passwords, etc. You just have to keep your phone
unlocked while you're out.

[https://i.imgur.com/lku7F4L.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/lku7F4L.jpg)

------
snitzr
How does Apple make these nice animated videos?

~~~
severine
[https://brandnewschool.com/work](https://brandnewschool.com/work)

Or other such studio, probably...

------
ytwombly
Anyone else getting Radiohead album art vibes?

------
gamesetmath
Chinese knockoffs already available on Amazon

~~~
fny
This is such an insane problem. I've been trying to source N95s and everyone
I've talked to, even very reliable people, keep bringing me counterfeits
without realizing it.

I'm actually really concerned their physicians are using those N95 masks.

Thankfully face shields are less of a risk.

~~~
ethanbond
Some commentators, disproportionately Silicon Valley VC types, are absolutely
befuddled at why the FDA needs to exist and why regulations are slowing things
down.

It's like they can't imagine a crisis worse than COVID being created by a
sloppy and irresponsible response (exempting, of course, responses that hurt
their investment portfolios, all of which are bad).

~~~
H8crilA
Oh wow. I think it's easy to "fix" it: give them a pill (of actually sugar)
but present it as a cure that you developed in your basement to whatever
ailment they have. Skin in the game works wonders on such cheap bullshitters.

Also please post links, always good to know whom to avoid.

------
rgovostes
The correct title should be "Face Shield" but in 6 months they'll
retroactively change all references to be stylized "faceShield".

------
bamboozled
Likely not going to be a popular comment but what about the environmental
impact of stuff like this? Are they reusable ?

~~~
pmilot
From the article:

> You can sterilize and reuse your face shield. It has been evaluated to be
> compatible with the following chemicals [...]

~~~
bamboozled
I'm talking a bit more longer term, like once this is over, what will happen
with millions and millions of these items?

------
firecall
Starting from $999, it’s our best face-shield yet and we think you are going
to love it!

*Strap not included

But seriously - nice work Apple.

------
kristofferR
Is this their new AR headset?

------
peterchane
It's the EyeMask.

------
seemslegit
I'm surprised the openings for the head band are analog and not thunderbolt

------
fanfanatic
But when will Apple have the courage to remove the shield from the faceahield?

------
joncrane
It would be great if they could make face shields that are dishwasher safe.

~~~
pwthornton
Is there any plastic that is actually dishwasher safe? I thought just about
all of it started leaching when exposed to high temperatures.

~~~
donatj
The inside of my dishwasher is made out of plastic, so I'd assume there'd have
to be.

~~~
pwthornton
I don't think the actual racks are plastic.

Specifically, all the recommendations I have seen are that you should not
microweave or put in the dishwasher plastic containers. That's for food, so
you can see where the leaching concerns would be.

But I wonder for this if part of it is that it has such close proximity to a
lot of your face.

~~~
donatj
No, but the walls are.

~~~
pwthornton
The walls are but the walls don't directly touch anything in there to directly
leach. Also, a lot of dishwashers have metal tubs, and this is probably a big
reason why.

------
handedness
And just like that, masks without continuous corners look so...downmarket.

------
lechiffre10
__Strap not included and sold separately

All jokes aside. This is great from Apple!

------
tartrate
The best thing to happen to the face since glasses.

------
peterchane
EyeMask

------
all_blue_chucks
We are all likely to be wearing PPE like this after the lockdowns are relaxed.
Widespread testing + PPE use is the only chance we have to return to something
normal before a vaccine is available.

------
antipaul
This is impressive, compared to what traditional health companies like Pharma
are doing.

The latter seem mostly to update existing products like faster tests or trying
to develop vaccines.

Whereas it’s the tech companies which are going a bit beyond their traditional
business: Apple making face masks, Google and Apple making screening websites
(other examples?)

All of which could be done by traditional health companies, but unfortunately
innovation is not their strength. Need to be disrupted!

And no surprise from Apple, since Tim Cook has said before: “Apple’s biggest
contribution to mankind will be in healthcare” and they are doing a lot more
than these face masks.

~~~
ethanbond
Really?

Masks don't get us out of this crisis. The billions-fold more complex work of
developing effective treatments and vaccines does.

What an odd sentiment you've got here.

~~~
antipaul
Thanks all for the input, it helps. I didn’t mean to downplay anyone’s
contributions. Just looking at how big companies in tech vs in healthcare are
solving this. Of course, smaller players innovate on a different scale.
Cheers!

------
seemslegit
By wearing this, do I sign away to apple the rights to my entire head or just
the skin-covered parts ?

------
haunter
I'd love to watch an Apple reality distortion field presentation of that
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx7v815bYUw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx7v815bYUw)

------
rvz
Apple:

    
    
      Apple FaceShield® - A magical yet disposable premium face shield from yours truly at One Apple Park.*
    
      *This device has not been tested or qualified to prevent or reduce infection, and does not provide particulate filtration. Not intended for use in surgical settings. These devices have not been disinfected or cleaned. Non-sterile.*
    
      Only $99 yearly subscription. /s
    
      Thank you. *Terms and Conditions Apply.
    
      Copyright © 2020 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.
    

Everyone: Just like every face shield, but this one has a Apple Logo. Cool
another collectable!

Me: Ok.

