Your Apple Watch measures blood oxygen saturation less than 1% worse than a medical instrument, study shows

The smartwatch you wear all day on your wrist measures blood oxygen saturation almost as well as the instruments doctors use, called pulse oximeters.

This is the conclusion reached by an academic study carried out by biomedical researchers that was published this October in the specialized journal Digit Health .

In the study, the authors tested one of today’s most popular smartwatch models, the Apple Watch 6 , and compared it to another of the most popular blood oxygen saturation meters for medical use , the Apple Watch 6. Massimo Radical-7 .

The bias in the measurements of these 2 devices was non-existent –0.0%– in the main values ​​analyzed. The differences were only appreciable, 1.2% , when the saturation dropped below 90%, although under these conditions all the devices lose precision, as the researchers explain.