5 ms·

Quelle surprise - garbage in, garbage out. I'll bet my Apple Watch doesn't have these issues.

by vr46 6y ago

ChrisLomont 6y ago
>I'll bet my Apple Watch doesn't have these issues. I bet they do. They certainly did a while back, and I've found nothing saying this has been fixed. https://bossip.com/1137485/race-matters-new-apple-watch-malfunctions-on-people-with-dark-skin-but-heres-why/ https://bossip.com/1137485/race-matters-new-apple-watch-malf...
- vr46 6y ago
  Mildly interesting, but that looks exceedingly anecdotal.
bildung 6y ago
Apple Watch already had exactly this problem in the past.
vinay427 6y ago
The Apple Watch doesn't have a pulse oximeter (EDIT: it does have one that is not approved and therefore is disabled), so it would be difficult for it to have this issue. You might be thinking of optical HR measurement, for which sensors have also been shown to have skin color biases in some cases. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7010823/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7010823/
- ceejayoz 6y ago
  > The Apple Watch doesn't have a pulse oximeter Yes, it does. The FDA blocked its use. https://www.city-journal.org/fda-blocks-apple-watch-blood-oxygen-feature https://www.city-journal.org/fda-blocks-apple-watch-blood-ox... https://www.cultofmac.com/320322/apple-watch-sensors-are-capable-of-measuring-blood-oxygen/ https://www.cultofmac.com/320322/apple-watch-sensors-are-cap...
  - exikyut 6y ago
    Wow. Is it possible to jailbreak iOS and gain access to... hmm, probably not. Even if the driver ships in iOS, it would be a fair question how much "disabled" was implemented by removing secret/irreplaceable code rather than simply disabling flags (potentially because the former approach was more convenient).
  - vinay427 6y ago
    Noted and thanks for the information, but as far as I can tell my point stands if the feature is completely inaccessible. I don't really understand what the GP comment was referring to regarding Apple Watch pulse oximetry accuracy. Other consumer devices such as my smartphone and watch have working pulse oximeter sensors built-in that are presumably FDA approved (or not FDA banned anyway), so it doesn't bode well for the Apple Watch if it can't pass this.
    - vr46 6y ago
      I have a lot of confidence in Apple even if they are less than 100% all the time. They put a vast amount of effort into catering for diverse users, their iOS accessibility, for example. So I would bet that the Watch sensors are solid. Or will be, as the feature appears to be coming soon: https://9to5mac.com/2020/03/08/apple-watch-blood-oxygen-saturation/ https://9to5mac.com/2020/03/08/apple-watch-blood-oxygen-satu...
      - TallGuyShort 6y ago
        Your dedication to your Kool-Aid is impressive.
- vr46 6y ago
  Ah yeah, maybe. I've had the watch and previously a Vivoactive HR and they never seemed to have any trouble with my skin colour when measured against other measurement methods.

Quelle surprise - garbage in, garbage out. I'll bet my Apple Watch doesn't have these issues.

by vr46 6y ago

Quelle surprise - garbage in, garbage out. I'll bet my Apple Watch doesn't have these issues.

>I'll bet my Apple Watch doesn't have these issues. I bet they do. They certainly did a while back, and I've found nothing saying this has been fixed. https://bossip.com/1137485/race-matters-new-apple-watch-malfunctions-on-people-with-dark-skin-but-heres-why/ https://bossip.com/1137485/race-matters-new-apple-watch-malf...

vr46 6y ago
Mildly interesting, but that looks exceedingly anecdotal.

bildung 6y ago

Apple Watch already had exactly this problem in the past.

vinay427 6y ago

The Apple Watch doesn't have a pulse oximeter (EDIT: it does have one that is not approved and therefore is disabled), so it would be difficult for it to have this issue. You might be thinking of optical HR measurement, for which sensors have also been shown to have skin color biases in some cases. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7010823/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7010823/

ceejayoz 6y ago
> The Apple Watch doesn't have a pulse oximeter Yes, it does. The FDA blocked its use. https://www.city-journal.org/fda-blocks-apple-watch-blood-oxygen-feature https://www.city-journal.org/fda-blocks-apple-watch-blood-ox... https://www.cultofmac.com/320322/apple-watch-sensors-are-capable-of-measuring-blood-oxygen/ https://www.cultofmac.com/320322/apple-watch-sensors-are-cap...
- exikyut 6y ago
  Wow. Is it possible to jailbreak iOS and gain access to... hmm, probably not. Even if the driver ships in iOS, it would be a fair question how much "disabled" was implemented by removing secret/irreplaceable code rather than simply disabling flags (potentially because the former approach was more convenient).
- vinay427 6y ago
  Noted and thanks for the information, but as far as I can tell my point stands if the feature is completely inaccessible. I don't really understand what the GP comment was referring to regarding Apple Watch pulse oximetry accuracy. Other consumer devices such as my smartphone and watch have working pulse oximeter sensors built-in that are presumably FDA approved (or not FDA banned anyway), so it doesn't bode well for the Apple Watch if it can't pass this.
  - vr46 6y ago
    I have a lot of confidence in Apple even if they are less than 100% all the time. They put a vast amount of effort into catering for diverse users, their iOS accessibility, for example. So I would bet that the Watch sensors are solid. Or will be, as the feature appears to be coming soon: https://9to5mac.com/2020/03/08/apple-watch-blood-oxygen-saturation/ https://9to5mac.com/2020/03/08/apple-watch-blood-oxygen-satu...
    - TallGuyShort 6y ago
      Your dedication to your Kool-Aid is impressive.
vr46 6y ago
Ah yeah, maybe. I've had the watch and previously a Vivoactive HR and they never seemed to have any trouble with my skin colour when measured against other measurement methods.