A New Lawsuit Alleges That An Apple Watch Sensor is Biased Against People of Color

The Apple Watch blood oxygen sensor is openly racist against persons with dark skin tones, according to a new class action lawsuit against Apple.

Alex Morales, the plaintiff, claims to have bought an Apple Watch between 2020 and 2021. He claims he was aware of the pulse oximetry capabilities of the device and thought it measured skin tone indifferently.

The lawsuit asserts that there have been reports for years that such devices were much less reliable in determining blood oxygen levels based on skin tone. A heightened awareness of structural racism in many facets of society coincided with the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic, which addressed the “real world impact” of this bias.

Researchers “proved the clinical impact of the racial bias of pulse oximetry using records of patients taken during and before the epidemic,” the complaint further asserts.

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“Black individuals may be at heightened risk for hypoxemia if pulse oximetry is relied upon to triage patients and modify supplemental oxygen doses,” the authors write.

On December 24, Morales filed a lawsuit on behalf of all New Yorkers who purchased an Apple Watch within the legal time frame. By the statutes against consumer fraud in various states, he also filed lawsuits on behalf of citizens of Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

In addition, the lawsuit alleges that Apple violated the New York General Business Law and State Consumer Fraud Acts and committed fraud, unjust enrichment, and breaches of express warranties.

Apple Watch skin awareness

There have been other skin-related complaints about the Apple Watch besides the 2022 lawsuit. Users claimed in 2015 that black wrist tattoos obstructed the cardiac sensor on the device.

Apple confirmed the problem in May 2015. An updated support page states, “Permanent or temporary alterations to your skin, such as some tattoos, might also affect heart rate sensor effectiveness.” Some tattoos can block light from the sensor due to their ink, design, and saturation, making it challenging to obtain accurate readings.

These problems existed before Apple added the blood oxygen sensor to its lineup with the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020.

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