Apple Watch accused of racial bias in blood oxygen sensor

195

Apple is facing a class-action lawsuit that claims its smartwatch’s blood oxygen sensor fails to accurately report results for people with darker skin tones.

The lawsuit, filed in New York by plaintiff Alex Morales, cites decades of research showing that pulse oximeter technology is ineffective when measuring blood oxygen levels in people with darker skin tones. The suit states that the problem was particularly significant during the Covid-19 pandemic when pulse oximeter tech was used in hospitals to check patients’ oxygen levels.

Morales purchased an Apple Watch between 2020 and 2021, and was aware of the pulse oximetry feature but expected it would not have the “biases and defects” in regards to darker skin tones that were previously documented in research.