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The Apple Watch does not play nicely with some tattoos

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Re: The Apple Watch does not play nicely with some tattoos

#41
post #24

Surprised Apple didn't discover this - or maybe they did and just didn't think it was a big issue. Could this be part of the reason behind the try-on appointments, so people with tattoos/scars/hairy arms can make sure all the features work correctly before purchase? Edit: Also, why does the comment section here look like a reddit thread?

Anecdotal at best, but I have noticed a slow decline in % of quality posts per comment thread over the last 3 or 4 months. This problem is also much more apparent when the article is about something that is easy to comment on (non-technical discussion) and one that has large groups of cult fans and detractors that will blindly support or badmouth any newly released information (apple products are probably #1). sorry…

Paul Graham wrote about this very phenomenon: http://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html

Re: The Apple Watch does not play nicely with some tattoos

#42
post #40

Surprised Apple didn't discover this - or maybe they did and just didn't think it was a big issue. Could this be part of the reason behind the try-on appointments, so people with tattoos/scars/hairy arms can make sure all the features work correctly before purchase? Edit: Also, why does the comment section here look like a reddit thread?

I suspect -- but have no proof whatsoever -- that Apple is the target of a widespread astroturfing campaign. The quality of other subjects on HN seems to be close to the normal (high) quality. Threads involving Apple, on the other hand, see an immediate influx of stupidity. As the downvotes accumulate, the thread drops of the front page. I realize that Apple has always been controversial, but this seems to have becom…

I doubt it's astroturfing; it's merely that Apple being supremely evil is an important religious matter for many people (see r/technology on reddit for the ultimate example).

Re: The Apple Watch does not play nicely with some tattoos

#44

This is where Steve would've stepped in and said if you want tattoos use Android Wear.

"You're wearing it wrong." Joking aside, if this watch uses the green and infrared LED method, there's really no fix here. The Moto 360 and other watches use the same technology. If the LED light is being blocked by ink, well, too bad.

You'd think Apple would be more considerate of tattoo users than any other company :) Now that the iPhone has made them mainstream, so long, tattoo crowd!

Re: The Apple Watch does not play nicely with some tattoos

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think steve would have let the current iwatch, as is, go to market? So many little flaws.

Did he let iPhone 4 "antennagate" on the market?

I think the seriousness of that one was a bit exaggerated by the press, really. I mean, I used an iPhone 4 for 3.5 years. I could cause signal to drop a bar or two by pressing a specific point, hard. In general, I got better signal most places than with my old 3G. Maybe if you lived in an area with extremely poor mobile signal and held the phone a certain way it could be a big issue, but I never really saw it as a problem.

Re: The Apple Watch does not play nicely with some tattoos

#48

Apparently optical heart rate monitors also often fail on dark skin (or have to shine a brighter light, so they run out of battery faster). So they might have a "racist HP webcam" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4DT3tQqgRM ) situation on their hands.

This is apparently why Apple uses infrared LEDs in addition to the green ones.

Plus the real power drain is when trying to measure heart rate, which the watch only does once every 10m so it probably doesn't make a large difference in battery life.

Re: The Apple Watch does not play nicely with some tattoos

#50
post #34

So I have a basic understanding that blood is red due to the chemical bond between iron and oxygen, and how both elements together reflect light, but out of curiosity, can anyone touch on the significance of green light?

[deleted]

Interesting. Thanks for the short and sweet answer.
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