Apple CEO Tim Cook has committed to making and shipping one million face shields to contribute to the fight against COVID-19.

America is facing a massive problem in terms of supplies with face masks, face shields, and ventilators.

Last week, Apple was able to procure 20 million face masks through its vast global supply chain. The initial shipment has been sent through Kaiser International to help offset the shortage of medical equipment throughout the U.S.

Going beyond simply procuring face masks, Apple is also bringing together some of its best minds in order to make its own protective gear.

In a video uploaded by Cook on Twitter, the executive said that “teams across Apple have been working hard on ways we can support our heroic front-line medical professionals.”

Apple is dedicated to supporting the worldwide response to COVID-19. We’ve now sourced over 20M masks through our supply chain. Our design, engineering, operations and packaging teams are also working with suppliers to design, produce and ship face shields for medical workers. pic.twitter.com/3xRqNgMThX — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 5, 2020

This particular support comes through the design of an innovative face shield.

A million face shields

According to Cook, unlike other face shields that get shipped already formed, Apple’s face shields will be shipped flat. It would only take two minutes for these shields to be assembled.

The executive also committed that Apple will be shipping one million face shields in its first week of production. Every week thereafter, Cook has vowed to supply at least a million more face shields made by Apple’s own factories.

Apple isn’t the only American company that has reached out to assist in the response to the virus. Companies such as Tesla, General Motors, and Dyson all have committed to help.

Apple’s outlook for 2020

The first Apple product that launched this 2020 was the new iPad Pro. The launch was a unique one as the company only uploaded a video on their website and on YouTube to announce its release.

Despite the new iPad Pro not showing any significant improvement compared to its 2018 version, it was still well accepted by the market and reviewers.

The iPad 2020 launch is slated to be followed by the launch of the new iPhone 12 series later this year. The outlook for that launch seems bleak. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, supply chains around the world have been halted.

Moreover, companies are shifting their capacities in helping manufacture equipment to fight the epidemic. This would cause a snowball effect on the delay in hitting the target dates for the production of new devices.

Delayed product launches

Apple has reportedly considered delaying the launch of the iPhone 12 series by 6 to 8 months. This was brought about by the possibility of low consumer confidence and spending after the COVID-19 epidemic comes to a stop.

Aside from Apple, other mobile phone makers are also affected by the pandemic. It has been reported that smartphone makers face a slowdown when it comes to demand for their products.

These companies are also facing shipment delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Featured image courtesy of PikRepo