close
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.
Apple on Monday 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.
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.
The plaintiff Alex Morales, a resident of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, said he paid an inflated price for his Apple Watch based on his mistaken belief that its blood oxygen app would measure blood oxygen levels “without regard to skin tone.”
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.
Morales said the real-world impact of this bias was not addressed until the COVID-19 pandemic led to “greater awareness of structural racism” in society.
WHAT SURPRISES CAN WE EXPECT FROM HIGHLY ANTICIPATED RELEASE OF IPHONE 15
A customer browses Apple watches at the new Apple Store on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 24, 2021. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/file photo)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Apple said Morales failed to make any allegations supporting his fraud claim, or show that it exposed him to anything misleading before his purchase.
Morales’ lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Doctors have long known that pulse oximeters, which help assess potential heart and respiratory problems, are less accurate in estimating blood oxygen of non-white patients.
The pandemic exposed some of the devices’ shortcomings, with some patients facing treatment delays or being discharged from emergency rooms too soon.
The case is Morales v Apple Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-10872.
A key senator on the Armed Services Committee says he is standing by President Donald Trump’s…
close Video Trump NSA nominee says combating terror starts with closing the border Incoming National…
close Video Expert breaks down how Biden admin 'manipulated data' to claim violent crime at…
Buckle up. President Donald Trump is back in the White House and moving at warp…
President Donald Trump’s Republican allies in the House say he is better positioned than ever…
Democratic lawmakers grilled President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget…