Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Again, this is not about the Smart Covers but about the iPads.

They wouldn't need to put the magnets inside the iPad if they didn't have the smart cover. Ditch the smart cover and they don't need the magnets. Problem solved.
 
Good for her!

If her findings are valid, it is very valuable information.
 
My wife has an ICD. Don't judge me if she wakes up with MY iPad on HER chest :)

Patients should know to keep any electronic and magnetic components away from their chest.
 
Exactly. Pacemaker is not the same thing as an implanted defibrillator.

Pacemakers are usually smaller than those implanted defibrillators, which can make a distinct difference in the probability of the SmartCover magnets affecting their operation.

I'm not surprised that the teen never won the fair. It's rather common knowledge that magnets can have an adverse affect on medical devices. It's even more apparent to those that actually have a medical device inside their chest. I am, however, surprised that her father, who is supposedly a Medical Doctor, found the "discovery" shocking to the point of presenting the "findings" to ~8000 other Doctors.

Maybe not so surprising when you consider that Apple has been heavily promoting the iPad to the medical profession. A lot of doctors in the US are using iPads now. Someone even commented that the iPad mini was just the right size to fit in the pocket of a doctors coat.
 
Why? People with pacemakers would be fully aware already wouldn't they, seeing as it's a safety device that is built in on purpose. That iPads have magnets like all the tablets that copy them is also well known. In fact the ads even make a feature of the magnets.

The only thing that is troubling is why Macrumors is putting such an obvious beat up on the front page.

well, it's a common question that a lot of people ask whether or not iPad magnets could interfere with their pacemakers. it's not so much a 14-year-old *discovered*, it's more of a PSA by a 14 year old.
 
Patients should know to keep any electronic and magnetic components away from their chest.

Patients know what their doctors tell them. My dad has a pacemaker and we didn't know that an iPad on the chest could be dangerous. I assumed they would be tiny little magnets with no real strength.
 
I'd wait before forming an opinion until the report is verified by actual specialists and technicians who work with the device. The report only quotes the student with regard to the magnet/pacemaker interaction. There aren't any details on exactly how the study done, how many subjects, etc.).

Of course, as others have pointed out, this is an Apple product, so jumping to conclusions seems to be a given these days (and ignoring every other source of magnetic fields, including 3rd party accessories).

I have an implanted device myself which can be turned off and on transdermally with a magnet (though not a pacemaker, it would be a similar depth below the skin). So far, the only magnet that I can get to work with it is the stout horseshoe magnet that was given to me by the implant manufacturer. And, even then, it needs to be moving past the device through a very narrow path close to the skin. It needs to work through many millimeters of tissue, which limits how far away it can be in x, y, and z axis.

For grins, I just tried the Smart Cover, and unsurprisingly, it has no effect.

All that being said, there are many types of implants from many manufacturers, and I'm sure they have some variance in sensitivity to a controlling magnetic field. On the other hand, they can't change physics: field intensity decreases exponentially with distance. Also, there are only very limited types of detectors (they probably use Hall Effect), so the devices will all have similar specs for external control magnetic fields.
 
Just because he's smarter than you doesn't mean you should start accusing people now.

Oh wait. Anything "bad" said about Apple means sneaky no good Samsung is behind it.

Bad Samsung. Bad!

I love how the sausage fest that makes up this site's audience can't fathom that A GIRL did this science project, even though it plainly says it in the article. It's the 21st century, many women are in science, get with the program.

BTW- many women were in science before but didn't get much credit for what they did because they aren't attention whores like men are. Ironic, huh? Men....are the whores...
 
Maybe the defibrillator manufactures should be blamed for letting magnets affect there device. This is really sad that apple is getting blasted for this.
 
Huh?

I love how the sausage fest that makes up this site's audience can't fathom that A GIRL did this science project, even though it plainly says it in the article. It's the 21st century, many women are in science, get with the program.

BTW- many women were in science before but didn't get much credit for what they did because they aren't attention whores like men are. Ironic, huh? Men....are the whores...

Who's making gender an issue? Seemed more of an age thing.
 
Perhaps because the experiment was done with an iPad and not with a Surface. Maybe because the 14 year old HAD an iPad and NOT a surface?

Sarcasm noted - but your question seems silly as asked

Headline: New Study Shows Apple iPad Can Cause Brain Damage!

Abstract: Hitting yourself in the head with an iPad forcefully and repeatedly could possibly cause brain damage. (The same can be said of a rock, but I didn't have a rock handy for the study. And besides, everyone knows that hitting yourself in the head with a rock could cause brain damage so that doesn't make a good headline.) I will be presenting these stunning findings to a group of 8000 doctors who are attending the conference mainly as a vacation/boondoggle.
 
Good for her!

If her findings are valid, it is very valuable information.

Not really valuable, as it's not only been known for literally decades but it's part of the design of the device to begin with. Any strong magnet can reset or temporary stop AICDs and they all reset pacemakers. A strong refrigerator magnet will do the same thing. When the pacemaker rep comes to "interrogate" your AICD or pacemaker he brings along a task-specific computer and a large friggin magnet.
 
Good for her!

If her findings are valid, it is very valuable information.
Valuable information perhaps in general, but information that didn't need to be "found" as it was already readily available (people just didn't care enough to actually read it it would seem).
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.