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Matt Siegel's tattoos confuse his new Apple Watch. Photo: Reuters

Tattoo snafu irks some Apple Watch owners

Early adopters of the Apple Watch, Apple's first new product in five years, are complaining that a number of its key functions are disrupted by their tattoos.

Owners of Apple Watch - including this reporter, who bought a 42mm version with stainless steel case and black classic buckle - have found that their inked skin confuses the sensors on the underside of the device.

Users of the watch, which went on sale last week, took to social media yesterday under the hashtag #tattoogate to air their frustration with the flaw from Apple's renowned design house.

One anonymous user on Reddit, an entertainment, social networking, and user-generated news website, said the device's locking mechanism, which should disengage when the watch detects it is being worn, failed to work on decorated skin.

"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," the user wrote.

This reporter, who has a black tattoo on his left arm, also found that 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 wrists.

A website support page from the company says tattoos can interfere with readings from the heart rate monitor, but does not mention interference with other functions.

"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," it said.

A spokesman for Apple in Sydney declined to comment yesterday, but three Apple employees at its flagship Sydney store said they were unaware of any issue.

"To be honest, you're my first caller about the Apple Watch at all," one employee said.

The tattoo issue follows a report in the on Wednesday that some taptic engines, which produce the sensation of being tapped on the wrist, started to break down over time, a flaw that was slowing the rollout of the item.

The report said the problem had been detected in some of the parts supplied by Shenzhen-based AAC Technologies, whose shares dropped 8 per cent yesterday morning after the report.

A Taipei-based technology analyst, who is in regular contact with AAC, said he was not aware of the tattoo problem, but did not expect it would have a significant impact on production.

"We have been hearing suppliers encountering some bottleneck issues for Apple Watch's production such as problems with its displays, haptics or assembly," he said, adding that those issues were quite common for new products.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Apple Watch fails the tattoo test
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