Cheap watches display wrong heart rate and SpO2!

In recent reports, it has been identified that some cheap and unbranded smartwatches offered on online platforms generate fake health information of users, while many buyers mistakenly expect these devices to offer advanced features such as real blood sugar measurement.

According to Gadgets Service in Tekna technology news media, investigations by a German regulatory body have shown that millions of untrusted devices lacked approval marks such as CE, and many of them listed features that were essentially unmeasurable with existing hardware. This situation has caused significant concern about the accuracy of health data in these types of wearables.

In these reviews, online sales lists were filled with titles that claimed to be able to monitor 24/7 heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and even blood sugar readings, while there was no non-invasive technology to accurately measure blood sugar, and the devices that made such claims provided only estimated or fake results. Only medical devices with invasive technology and on-chip sensors can make such measurements, the researchers noted, and cheap smartwatches do not have similar capabilities.

Among the products that had false claims, a model was seen that was removed from the market by the decision of the authorities in 2024, but it is still sold in some areas, and this shows the weakness in applying regulations and monitoring online sales. In independent tests, a comparison between a cheap tracker and a Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar watch showed that the unnamed device provided very unstable results in counting steps and heart rate, and the accompanying software was also of low quality.

Experts in the field of wearables emphasize that authentic smart watches can provide information related to a person’s health, but these data are not considered forensic medical information and are not usually covered by health data protection laws and are not designed for use in medical environments. Brands that operate seriously in this market have received approval for some advanced features under specific regulations, but fake and nameless devices have not gone through such processes.

Although the market of cheap and imitation wearables seems attractive, some analysts have warned that buying such devices can not only lead to receiving incorrect information, but also cause waste of money and even mislead consumers in managing their health, and consumers should do careful research in their choice and refer to the recommended guidelines for choosing quality smart watches to avoid wrong data violations.