Apple Confirms Tattoos Can Affect Apple Watch Sensors

Internet has been filled with number of reports that tattoos can affect Apple Watch sensors and now Apple has released an official statement confirming it.

Apple has now updated its website relating to the heart sensor on the Apple Watch and the company has now confirmed that tattoos may affect the sensors.

Permanent or temporary changes to your skin, such as some tattoos, can also impact heart rate sensor performance. The ink, pattern, and saturation of some tattoos can block light from the sensor, making it difficult to get reliable readings.

The issue is caused because of how the Watch’s green LED lights and photodiode sensors penetrate the skin and detect the changes in capillaries and blood vessels. The ink in darker tattoos can affect the absorption of both light and infrared and cause issues with the reading. The issue is not limited to the Apple Watch, however. A device using similar hardware can also get into issue if it meets a dark tattoo on a wearer’s wrist.

Apple’s solution to the problem is not really helpful or cheap. Apple suggests that if you are not able to get an accurate heart reading from your Apple Watch, then you can use the watch with an external Bluetooth Chest strap. So, if you are planning to buy a Apple Watch, it might be worth heading to your local Apple Store to check for yourself before putting down your heard-earned money for a new Apple Watch.

Source: Apple Support