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Maybe it will eventually be possible to solve some of the issues with some sort of calibration. I doubt the inks would be absorbing 100% of the wavelengths (few materials do), so possibly adjusting the sensitivity could resolve it - if the hardware is capable.

I'm guessing not without killing the battery (already using the heart monitor during exercise uses up more battery), certain inks with certain compounds, probably block nearly all light in all frequencies from going through (certain types of true black inks)
 
Seriously people...you tat yourself up to look like a circus freak and get all upset when your your fancy new optical sensors can't recognize you as having a normal skin tone. Really?

Yes, David Beckham, Angelina Jolie, Drew Barrymore, Megan Fox, Johnny Depp, Scarlett Johannson... they're all "circus freaks" because they have tattoos.

Careful... Your white, southern state republican is showing.
 
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I visit all different kinds of forums for a range of my interests and it never ceases to amaze/depress me the level of rudeness, entitlement and elitism I find here on the macrumor forums.

Check out the Nintendo forums...
 
Maybe it will eventually be possible to solve some of the issues with some sort of calibration. I doubt the inks would be absorbing 100% of the wavelengths (few materials do), so possibly adjusting the sensitivity could resolve it - if the hardware is capable.

Actually there won't be with the sensor technology today. It's the same way with hospital pulse oximetry sensors on fingers. Certain shades of nail polish have to be removed or they won't work. It's not an absorbing issue as it is the light spectrum gets altered when it goes through the colors. So they then sensors can't read the light that is returned.
 
When it comes to tattoo's, what can you do. It is such a small population set that I would rather it work on the majority of people than them. That being said, I am extremely disappointed with the heart rate monitor thus far.

I am a fitness sensor fanatic, and the Apple Watch has been far less accurate/informative than the cheaper alternatives. Ive found it terrible for sensing peaks during weight lifting/intervals, and its taken the HR monitor 5-10 minutes to show an accurate number during outdoor runs.

I would rather the watch say acquiring than give me a BS metric like 175bpm when I know I would be around 135-140.

Luckily, the software on this device is far more advanced, so hopefully they make tweaks based off of the extensive data they are getting.

As of now, amazing smart watch, sub-par fitness tracker.
 
I don't mean to sound silly intentionally.. but the guy in the video is actually wearing the watch the wrong way. Pretty sure if you want to be efficient with the watch, you put the nob on the left so you can reach in easily with your left arm. Same goes for the right arm. So there's that.

No it's on correctly - as it's on his right arm the crown is easily accessible for the left hand to press/ scroll, whereas if it was on the other side the wrist was in the way. I'm mildly glad for the pic as being a leftie I wear my watch on my right hand so I'm happy the screen can be flipped.

On topic, the green light idea is correct - most medical pulse oximeters use green light to reflect of the red cells to identify oxygenation.Most attach to fingers and I was taught that dark nail vanish might affect the reading, however anecdotal evidence doesn't seem to support this. Tattooed skin contains pigment through many layers of the skin (melanin is on one layer) so this is not surprising. The only alternatives I've seen are chest heart rate monitors, which work as a single lead ECG, but for the purposes of the watch are impractical. Affected individuals will have to send their watches back or remove their tattoos if they want to use the pulse function.
 
And apple should have tested this before bringing it out to market. Lots of folks have tattoos ya know!

The apologists keep on rollin'.

Again, to you... if this were Google, you would respond the same?

HIGHLY doubt it, which is called: HYPOCRISY.

w00master

How do you know Apple didn't test it? And if they did and found it didn't work with certain wrist tattoos is that enough of a reason not to use the technology? NO!
 
Seriously people...you tat yourself up to look like a circus freak and get all upset when your your fancy new optical sensors can't recognize you as having a normal skin tone. Really?

Wow... you love to stereotype, don't ya?

(Note; the fact SSonnetag's comment got a lot of upvotes is simply sad and awful. Come on Apple folks, you're better than this!)

w00master
 
NEWS FLASH: Having a tattoo has nothing to do with intelligence.

The tattoo itself doesn't, but I would argue the act of getting one does. In all my years of tattoo research I've found that the dumbest amongst us are the quickest to get one.
 
HUh?

No, but a lot of folks do. Btw, would LOVE to see your stats on this since you seem to have them on hand.

:rolleyes:

w00master

Feel free to show me yours, buddy. Since no tattoos are the default, I'm confident in saying that the vast majority of people do NOT have full-sleeve or wrist tattoos.
 
I really don't think it's fair to attempt to turn this into a "gate" and I don't think the general public will either. (Not that "gates" ever really affect sales anyway.)

This is silly. A technology that was designed to see through your skin to be able to read your heart rate can't read through black ink--I'm sorry, but it's not Apple's job to account for things that aren't naturally supposed to be in your skin.

Hey, I have tattoos too, but I sure as hell wouldn't blame Apple if I had a tattoo sleeve on my arm and the watch couldn't read through it. It's just one of those unfortunate things that the current technology can't account for. If you have a sleeve tattooed on your arm and this is a deal breaker, simply don't buy an Apple Watch, or return the one you already bought. It's very simple.
 
Feel free to show me yours, buddy. Since no tattoos are the default, I'm confident in saying that the vast majority of people do NOT have full-sleeve or wrist tattoos.

Apple is a company that should be inclusive of all people, not just the majority. Seeing all the snide, vulgar remarks in this thread only reminds me humans in general have a long way to go.
 
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