Apple Watch user Alex Morales Claims The Apple Watch records blood oxygen levels less accurately in people with darker skin. He believes Apple should have informed its customers about this.

Morales stilt that Apple was aware of incorrect oxygen levels showing up for users with dark skin. According to him, this can lead to dangerous situations.

He says there have been reports “decades” ago that the devices were less accurate at measuring blood oxygen saturation in darker-skinned people. It also makes connections to “the structural racism that exists in many aspects of society”.

oxygen saturation

Apple Watches have been able to measure saturation since 2020. Oxygen saturation is the amount of oxygen in your blood and is expressed as a percentage. In healthy people, the value is between 95 and 99 percent.

The US Food and Drug Administration has begun Search recently For the saturation measurement technique, after it was found that special devices (pulse oximeters) recorded very high oxygen values ​​in dark-skinned people. It’s not clear how far Apple’s technology deviates from this.

Class action

People from several US states who purchased an Apple Watch since 2020 can join the class action lawsuit. Apple has not yet responded.

In 2015, the heart rate monitor on the Apple Watch was less accurate in people with tattoos. Then Apple advised people not to wear the watch over the tattoo.