Author: Nina Cherokee
You may have seen the headlines recently about Apple being sued over the alleged ineffectiveness of its blood oxygen reader on people of color.
The company is facing a lawsuit that claims that the Watch’s monitor is not accurate for people with darker skin tones.
Overview of the Lawsuit Against Apple
According to Spencer Sheehan, the complaint was filed on behalf of the plaintiff on Saturday in New York. The lawsuit is based on both recent and old pandemic-era studies that demonstrate the inefficiency of pulse oximeter technology in monitoring blood oxygen levels in darker skin tones.
The Accuracy of the Blood Oxygen Reader on Apple Watches
It’s said that the device is not accurate when used on people of color, and as a result, they are suffering from a higher number of negative reviews.
It’s an accusation that the company is taking very seriously, and they are currently looking into ways to improve the accuracy of the device. In the meantime, they are advising people of color to use a different blood oxygen reader until the issue has been resolved.
How Apple’s Health Software Is Designed to Measure Blood Oxygen Levels
When you use the software designed to measure your blood oxygen levels, your skin tone must be measured correctly. If not, the results could be inaccurate.
Skin tone is one of the main factors that the software uses to measure blood oxygen levels. The problem is that people with dark colors are often not accurately measured by the software.
This is because Apple’s Health software is designed to measure blood oxygen levels in people with lighter skin tones. This means that people of color are often not getting an accurate reading when they use the Apple Watch.
Implications of This Lawsuit for Other Tech Companies
The implications of this lawsuit for other tech companies should not be overlooked. This lawsuit is the first of its kind and sets a precedent for civil rights action against technology companies. This is especially true when it comes to algorithms that are used in consumer products, such as the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen reader.
The law firm representing the plaintiffs, in this case, has argued that the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen reader does not meet industry standards for accuracy among people of color and that this has resulted in physical and mental harm to those affected by it. If successful, this lawsuit may set the standard for how tech companies should approach race in their products. It will also likely spark further lawsuits from other consumer advocacy groups around race-based discrimination in technology products.
Ultimately, this lawsuit may push tech companies to be more aware of how their products impact different racial and ethnic communities, which would benefit all users in the long run.
Conclusion
So, what’s the verdict? Well, it seems that, until these lawsuits are settled, we just don’t know for certain whether or not the Apple Watch is effective in reading blood oxygen levels for people of color. However, we can all agree that more research is needed in this area, to ensure that everyone can benefit from this potentially life-saving technology.