Posted on 04/30/2015 12:32:28 AM PDT by Citizen Zed
SYDNEY - Early adopters of the Apple Watch are complaining that a number of its key functions are disrupted by their tattoos.
Users of the watch, which went on sale last week, took to social media on Thursday under the hashtag #tattoogate to air their frustration with the flaw from Apple's renowned design house.
One anonymous user on Reddit, an entertainment, social networking, and user-generated news website, said the device's locking mechanism, which should disengage when the watch detects it is being worn, failed to work on decorated skin.
"My hand isn't tattooed and the Watch stayed unlocked. Once I put it back on the area that is tattooed with black ink, the watch would automatically lock again," the user wrote.
This Reuters reporter, who has a black tattoo on his left arm, also found that the watch locks on tattooed skin and does not deliver the soft pings that alert a user to incoming messages. The heart rate readings were also significantly different on the tattooed and untattooed wrists.
An Apple support article says the watch uses green LED lights paired with light-sensitive photodiodes to detect the amount of blood flowing through the wrist and calculate the frequency of heart beats.
A website support page from the company says tattoos can interfere with readings from the heart rate monitor, but does not mention interference with other functions.
"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," it said.
A spokesman for Apple in Sydney declined to comment on Thursday, but three Apple employees at its flagship Sydney store, including a senior advisor, said they were unaware of any issue.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
You do graffiti on your skin, and you pay the price. Poor babies....
No. the ink pigments are much darker and some have minerals in them.
“Could skin conditions or ethnicity mess with the sensors too?”
I doubt it. What’s happening is that the tattoo ink is reflecting the green light that is part of the watch’s sensor mechanism.
I know we My decision to not get any tattoos would finally pay of.
Do I get a free Iwatch?
Did any libtard say the watch must be racist?
The machine’s demands grow ever more intimate.
Don’t forget to ping Swordmaker ... :-) ...
We are standing on the edge of the abyss and this is what is most important to some people.
No. I saw a fairly dark black woman trying on an Apple Watch today at the Apple Store and it worked. The Green light has a high infrared content. . . if the ink is opaque to the infrared, you'll have a problem.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
I challenge the members of the Apple ping list to each donate at least $10 each to the latest Freepathon. I HAVE donated $100. Many members of the Apple Ping list are already rising to the challenge. Join them. Let's show the power of the Apple Ping list in supporting Freerepublic!
Illustrations have consequences.
Couldn’t you say that about everyone who was shopping at the mall today?! ... :-) ...
In fact, if you haven’t lost almost all your hair by pulling it out, something is wrong with you! ... :-) ...
Going further, everyone should be seeing a therapist these days, as that’s how bad things are getting.
One big nudge or even a little one...
soetoro's plans coming to fruition.
Oh, it’s not only machines. Look at most any big organization. Invariably, they all end up with Support Departments that start out with a mission to support the revenue departments. In the end they become Nazis of one sort or another demanding all sorts of added work (with no value-added) from the revenue producers.
Yeah. Well, those are machines too, aren’t they?
There’s a lot of that going around.
One could look at them like that I guess.
“Decorated skin”
Right. When I put up party decorations or Christmas decorations, they don’t become permanently affixed to my house.
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