The much anticipated Apple Watch, Apple Inc's first new product in five years, may not be worthwhile for people with tattoos, especially if you have an inked wrist. Some of the watch's features like its heart rate monitor are reportedly not working properly on tattooed skin.
Since the device went on sale last week, Inked users of the $822 gadget, have been expressing their frustrations on social media with the tag "#Tattoogate."
"The watch locks on tattooed skin and does not deliver the soft pings that alert a user to incoming messages. The heart rate readings were also significantly different on the tattooed and untattooed skin," Reuters reporter Matt Siegel said.
Apple has since acknowledged the issue on its support website, saying that tattoos can block light from entering the sensors on the watch, making reading extremely difficult.
"Permanent or temporary changes to your skin, such as some tattoos, can also impact heart rate sensor performance," the statement on the site reads. "The ink pattern, and saturation of some tattoos can block light from the sensor, making it difficult to get reliable reading."
The sensor can also give inaccurate readings when a user is exercising particularly in cold, or when moving arrhythmic ally during activities like tennis or boxing.
Several Apple Watch owners have posted complaints, including videos of the watch working normally on an untattooed hand, but on a tattooed wrist, where it locked and paused repeatedly.
According to a Guardian report, a Reddit user wrote: "I was about to give up and call Apple...When I decided to try holding it against my hand (my left arm is sleeved and where I wear my watch is tattooed as well), and it worked. My hand isn't tattooed and the Watch stayed unlocked. Once I put it back on the area that is tattooed with black ink the watch would automatically lock again."
Although Apple has not yet announced a solution to make its new product work for everyone, the tech giant has recommended that tattooed users prevented from using the heart-rate monitor should connect the watch directly to an external monitor, like Bluetooth chest straps.