Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
TL;DR
- A lawsuit has been filed towards Apple after a examine discovered excessive concentrations of poisonous ‘endlessly chemical substances’ in its watch bands.
- The go well with targets the Apple Watch’s Sport, Ocean, and Nike Sport bands.
- These chemical substances can construct up in our our bodies over time and have been linked to a wide range of well being points.
- Apple has refuted the allegations, saying that Apple Watch bands are secure for customers to put on.
Replace: January 24, 2025 (12:58 AM ET): Apple has reached out to Android Authority with an official assertion concerning the matter and the supplies utilized in Apple Watch bands. Right here’s what the corporate needed to say.
Apple Watch bands are secure for customers to put on. Along with our personal testing, we additionally work with impartial laboratories to conduct rigorous testing and evaluation of the supplies utilized in our merchandise, together with Apple Watch bands.”
In 2022, Apple launched a whitepaper detailing its plan to part out endlessly chemical substances from its merchandise. On the time, the corporate accepted that lots of its merchandise contained PFAS and that it will take time to utterly part them out.
“It is going to take time for Apple to utterly part out PFAS from our merchandise and processes due to the challenges associated to compiling a complete catalog of PFAS use, figuring out and growing non-PFAS alternate options that may meet the efficiency wants for sure essential purposes, and taking into consideration the time wanted for materials qualification,” Apple wrote within the paper.
The identical yr, Apple additionally launched a toxicological evaluation report for supplies utilized in Apple merchandise, together with the Apple Watch. You’ll be able to learn the in depth report right here, whereby Apple notes the way it conducts inner testing and qualification of supplies utilized in its smartwatches.
Right here’s an official checklist of all of the supplies Apple makes use of in all its watches and watch bands.
Authentic article: January 23, 2025 (3:32 AM ET): A latest examine discovered that smartwatch bands from fashionable manufacturers, together with Apple, comprise excessive concentrations of poisonous ‘endlessly chemical substances.’ Now, a lawsuit has been filed towards Apple concerning these watch bands.
A lawsuit was filed in California’s Northern District Courtroom (noticed by The Register) and targets three Apple Watch fluoroelastomer bands which might be stated to comprise “endlessly chemical substances.” These bands are the Sport band included with the smartwatch, the Ocean band, and the Nike Sport band that ships with the Apple Watch Nike units.
So what are “endlessly chemical substances,” then? These are also called PFAS chemical substances (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and are artificial chemical substances that don’t break down simply over time. As an alternative, they construct up in our our bodies and have been linked to elevated danger of particular cancers, weakened immune techniques, developmental delays in youngsters, and hormone disruption. Along with fluoroelastomer watch bands, these poisonous chemical substances have additionally been present in non-stick cookware, mattresses, waterproof garments, and extra.
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Apple isn’t the one smartwatch model to supply bands with endlessly chemical substances, although. Different offending straps embody the Pixel Watch 3‘s default watch strap, the Galaxy Watch Sport T-buckle band, and the OnePlus Watch 2’s fluoro-rubber strap. You’ll be able to take a look at our extra complete checklist of watch bands with endlessly chemical substances.
This submitting nonetheless arrives a few years after Apple first pledged to part out these poisonous chemical substances from its merchandise. It additionally comes after a separate go well with was filed towards Samsung late final yr for its personal use of endlessly chemical substances in sure watch straps. Both approach, we hope all wearable producers act rapidly to ditch these chemical substances in its merchandise.
