Will.i.am Debuts Innovative Face Technology Concept, Xupermask | Hacker News Reader

Will.i.am Debuts Innovative Face Technology Concept, Xupermask

xupermask.com

22 pointslaurex33 comments

Open articleView on HN

I love the caveats on the spec page:

XUPERMASK is NOT a medical device

XUPERMASK is NOT a respirator

XUPERMASK is NOT N95

XUPERMASK is NOT a surgical mask and can’t be used in clinical setting

XUPERMASK is NOT a personal protective equipment (PPE) and shouldn’t be used to meet a professional healthcare facility obligations

XUPERMASK is NOT FDA-approved and DOES NOT replace other CDC recommended preventive measures including hand washing, social distancing, or refraining from touching your face

XUPERMASK is NOT a Toy and not intended for children under the age of 16

"concept" = "vaporware". Will.i.am himself is famous[1] for these at this point.

1. https://www.protocol.com/will-i-am-xupermask-honeywell

Normally I'd agree but nothing about this seems out of the realm of a customized Alibaba product or something

Just imagine every material will be 10x crappier than implies and I think it could be real

Edit: Sure enough https://m.alibaba.com/product/1600093606917/Face-Mask-eadpho...

It's like Rule 34 but for merch on Alibaba.

There are a lot of celebrity investors like that. They usually have zero day-to-day interaction with the business aside from a launch blog/press release like this one.

No doubt, no doubt. At what point does Will.i.am realize this is doing him more harm than good here.

How would it harm him? I'm sure he's being paid in equity with liquidation preference. His biggest investment is his name on something like this.

This happens all the time with low tier VCs (although a few big ones have celebrities that come out of the woodwork during raises) and companies that have trouble raising money from angel investors more in the know. Go pick an athlete or musician and they probably have some startup with their name attached.

He's diluting his names value by attaching it to failed products. Eventually his name will be synonymous with failed products, at that point his biggest revenue generator is...vapor.

> Eventually his name will be synonymous with failed products,

You're overestimating consumers' capacity to read, well, anything.

Also if a product fails because no one has heard of it, how would you expect them to know?

The long term business is the 'innovative replaceable monthly filters' (1:22 in the video). $27.99 a month. After ten months you'll pay more for the filters than for the mask/headphones combo.

Anyone else tired of reading about Wil.i.am's low innovation technology businesses? I don't know what it's like in the US but Wired UK have covered him far more than any of the companies he's involved in deserve.

He’s technopop bullshit for a while. Intel even hired him as an exec for lead innovation or something ridiculous. Right around the time they started going downhill. Go figure.

seems comparable to LG Puricare ($289), https://www.shopmask.com/respirator-lg-puricare-mask.html

and Philips Fresh Air Mask ($189), https://www.shopmask.com/respirator-philips-mask.html https://www.philips.com/a-w/about/dutch-design-week-2020/phi...

and Purely ($79) https://www.shopmask.com/respirator-purely.html

unfortunately despite being even slightly more expensive than LG Puricare, it seems to have worse filters?

not sure why you would want to tie your music listening to your air purification?

people who traditionally might like this type of consumer grade active filter mask are those worried about the effects of pollution in cities on their health, it's interesting to see this company xupermask attempt to appeal instead to streetwear or fashion and music crowds.

I predict a very small chance of actually breaking through and making this type of mask more widely popular outside health-focused or urban foot+cycle commuters and a large chance of complete failure due to the product's price and lack of consumer interest.

people immediately dismissing this are just ignorant to the real interest in air filtration by those who are deeply concerned with the health effects of breathing urban pollution.

That LG one is really ugly (maybe it looks better in life? I'm dubious).. but the Woobi plus, the Woobi wins (gas mask-chic).

There are some interesting alternatives out there.. although they all feel like they're using a razor blade/ink cartridge model for pricing (perhaps made worse by the site no having all of them or listing the price particularly prominently)

Personally I won't even consider to use such thing while cycling. Looks rigid (and maybe with some weight penalty compared to other lightweight non-tech alternatives?), in case of a serious crash it can be troublesome. Plus the idea of cycling while listening to music is a no-no.

So, I’m curious — does anyone know of people (or even a single person) who has actually tested the masks from the shopmask.com site? Can they actually deliver anything? Do any of the masks actually work?

This guy is always promoting these moronic ideas.

I would say he should stick to making music but he’s not very good at that either.

A lot of negativity in the comments here has got me questioning.

Where is the love?

I think it left with Kim Hill

No love for worse than mediocrity and exacerbating the pointless consumerist cycle without any innovation on top of perpetuated social stigma.

Parent is a joke, paraphrasing part of the lyrics from Black Eyed Peas biggest hit “where is the love”, that will.I.am co-wrote, co-produced and performed.

If the mask provides no protection, what's the point of making it?

The number of buzzwords he has managed to pack into the last 10 years or so is very impressive:

- Director of Creative Innovation at Intel, semiconductor producer

- Creator of EKOCYCLE, a sustainable fashion brand

- Strategic Director at Atom Bank, challenger bank

- Founding partner at Beats Electronics

- Chief Creative Officer at 3D Systems, additive manufacturing company

- Designer of a Lexus protoype with infotainment features using lots of cameras

- Honory Fellow of Institution of Engineering and Technology

- Launched PULS "smart cuff" wearable technology

- Assistant designer for Deutsche Telekom smartwatches

- Launched i.am+ iPhone camera accessories

- Acquired Wink smart home platform

- Acquired Sensiya machine learning startup

Just missing blockchain.

What's the plan for in a year or two when no one is wearing a mask anymore? Seems like an overly complicated solution to a simple problem.

There are parts of the world, South Korea for example, where people commonly wear masks year-round and have for ages, either because of fine dust pollution or just generally if you're not feeling great and go out, it's polite to others. Might see this being adopted in places like that. In additional, I personally am happy if we normalize the wearing of masks, I have awful seasonal allergies and masking up has been amazing for me.

I don't think there's any indication that mask requirement will abate anytime soon. All posturing from western leadership point to precisely the opposite. The notion that the mask requirement will disappear in as early as 1-2 years is farcically optimistic.

Thanks... I hate it.

This sounds like something that will get cloned and sold for 39 dollars at a gift store

Not only is this kind of a useless product, it hijacks the scroll bar. :(

a couple steps away from a full darth vader helmet which is kinda cool...

He should stick to making music - you ain't Kanye bro.

Thanks to that hospital that happens to be popular for involuntarily committing problem celebrities, Kanye isn't Kanye anymore.

This is terrible and makes me feel sad for humanity. Stormtroopers, at least theirs an empire for every time period.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com