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On the flip side of this Samsung removed the oxygen saturation SPO2 feature from its phones in Canada and Cyprus (weirdly random choices). It was probably for l
by dghughes 7y ago
On the flip side of this Samsung removed the oxygen saturation SPO2 feature from its phones in Canada and Cyprus (weirdly random choices). It was probably for legal reasons but you'd never find out why.
Here in Canada my dad who has COPD and IPF was using it to get a ballpark idea of his current blood oxygen percentage. It's not a medical device but it's (was) convenient for someone in his situation.
It seems fraudulent for a company to remove a feature without notice (yes probably buried on line 1,256 of an update). Not just an app but one that used a physical device/sensor on the phone removing it seems very wrong if not illegal.
- azinman2 7y agoPure speculation: perhaps it wasn’t reliable enough so it got yanked?
- SomeOldThrow 7y agoI’d think the decision should be up to the owner of the device. Who is the company to determine acceptable functionality AFTER purchase?
- inimino 7y agoWho is in a better position to know if such a feature doesn't work?
- SomeOldThrow 7y agoIt’s not really related to determination of use value or other qualitative questions. If my blender, or even my blood pressure machines, gets recalled, the company doesn’t break into my house to cut the wires for my safety. How is this not a basic violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act? Edit: canada and cyprus only is why.
- inimino 7y agoRight. But you own your blender. It's naïve to think you own your phone just because you carry it around.
- SomeOldThrow 7y agoIs it? That definition of property worked pretty well. Try and take it I’ll hit you, etc. Otherwise why pay for it and why not just take it by force? Just a matter of time before these companies get too greedy and get hit with violence.
- inimino 7y agoMaybe it shouldn't be, but it is. People are putting microphones in their homes that Amazon controls and that serve no purpose but to let them spend money with Amazon more conveniently. The old definition of property doesn't really capture that does it?