Judge dismissed lawsuit claiming the Apple Watch blood oxygen sensor is racially biased

Apple has won the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming that the blood oxygen sensor on its Apple Watch exhibits “racial bias” against people with darker skin tones, reports Reuters.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan dismissed the proposed class action with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again. He plans to explain his reasons by Aug. 31, according to Reuters.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York in December 2022. Plaintiff Alex Morales said he purchased an Apple Watch between 2020 and 2021. He said that he was aware that the device has pulse oximetry features, and believed it did this without regard to skin tone.

“For decades, there have been reports that such devices were significantly less accurate in measuring blood oxygen levels based on skin color,” the lawsuit alleged. “The ‘real world significance’ of this bias lay unaddressed until the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic, which converged with a greater awareness of structural racism which exists in many aspects of society.”

Morales was seeking “monetary, statutory, and/or punitive damages,” “costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney and expert fees,” and “other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.”

His amended complaint, filed in May, cited decades of reports that similar pulse oximetry devices were “significantly less accurate” when measuring blood oxygen levels of nonwhite people.

According to Reuters, Apple said Morales failed to make any allegations supporting his fraud claim, or show that it exposed him to anything misleading before his purchase.