Apple. Fitbit. These companies may be inclusive. But they’re smartwatches are discriminatory as hell! Ok – this is shocking but interesting at the same time! If you take smartwatches seriously for their health and fitness features, then pay attention.
⌚️ Buy the Skagen Falster Gen 6: https://geni.us/SkagenFalster6
⌚️ Buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 (40mm): https://geni.us/Watch4
⌚️ Buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 (Classic): https://geni.us/Watch4Classic
⌚️ Buy the Xiaomi Mi Band 6: https://geni.us/XiaomiMiBand6
⌚️ Buy the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra: https://geni.us/TicWatchPro3Ultra
Note: Affiliate links in this post help support us financially. For more options check out the ‘Support Us’ section on this site.
We’ve been getting into smartwatches & fitness bands on this channel. Maybe it’s a new year, new me kind of thing.
Anyway, when we were testing the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 we noticed it almost never worked when we tried to measure our body fat and skeletal muscle. And then jokingly, we tried it with a friend with white skin. Plot twist: it worked flawlessly! So obviously we were thinking it had something to do with our darker skin color.
But was it a joke? Or could we see the future? Without getting too supernatural about it – our suspicions were confirmed. A research paper that recently came out sheds some light on it. The Verge reported that it shows that the light sensors used to track heart rate don’t work as well on darker skinned people or people with obesity.
The technique used by these devices is called photoplethysmography (PPG) which is a light signal used to measure blood flow. And this is not only used for measuring heart rate but also for blood pressure. So what’s the issue with darker skin and being obese?
Well, the study showed that melatonin, which is the pigmentation in darker skin, absorbs light. And obesity means the skin is thicker, has less water and blood flow.
But how much of a difference does it make?
Well being dark skinned showed that the results deviated by about 10%. But if you’re dark skinned AND obese it went up to as high as 60%.
This was worse on Fitbit compared to the Apple Watch since it had fewer sensors.
Now, before we panic and start a trending hashtag. Remember that the study was done in lab conditions. Only now have they enrolled about 100 people so far to confirm these findings in real life conditions.
What’s even more shocking is that this may not only apply to smartwatches or ‘consumer wellness devices’. Companies like Apple and Fitbit protect themselves from lawsuits by saying that their products are not medical grade devices. But the study suggested that medical devices that use such a light sensor and PPG may face the same limitations. An example of this is getting your blood oxygen measured at your doctor.
So in case you fall into any of the categories we mentioned earlier, take all those smartwatch stats with a pinch of salt. But not too much salt – that might not be great for your blood pressure. Disclaimer: we are not licensed medical professionals. But we do review smartwatches, audio products and beard tools? Sorry, got carried away there, do subscribe though.
You’ve been shocked by racist tech and we’ve been DHRME. Namaste!
