Apple Watch, Apple's first smartwatch, has finally gone on sale
online and already it's hit a snag. Sorry, Hipsters you might
think your tattooed wrists are cool but they will break your
Apple Watch as Apple confirms the heart rate function of
thetechy timepiece will not work on some tattooed wrists.
Users on Reddit initially reported the error with darker-coloured
inks being the biggest cuprit behind the issue. Now Apple has
publicly acknowledged the problem by posting the following on
its support page:
“Permanent or temporary changes to your skin, such as some
tattoos, can also impact heart rate sensor performance. The ink,
pattern, and saturation of some tattoos can block light from the
sensor, making it difficult to get reliable readings”
The Apple Watch uses light-sensitive photdiodes and fires
LEDs at the skin hundreds of times per secons to detect the
amount of blood flowing through your wrist. Natural dark skin
pigmentation doesn’t seem to affect it but the dark ink of a tattoo
does manage to obscure the LEDs. The same problem is present
on other smartwatches and fitness wearables that use the same
system technology.
This means bad news for the likes of Beckam and those who
followed in his fashionable footsteps by inking their arms in a
sleeve of tattoos. See, your mum was right all along.
