Recalling wearables is the latest (unfortunate) trend
Recalls are never good and it seems like they’re happening more. Way back, Fitbit’s Force (reborn as the Fitbit Charge) was recalled due to users having allergic reactions to the nickel and glue used in the design. Fitbit did a decent job of some damage control – a note from CEO James Park even detailed the measures taken to test what went wrong.
But Fitbit isn’t the only high profile company to have to make that embarrassing admission that it messed things up. New claims of rashes, inaccuracies and burns have cropped up as recently as this year. Some of those people were Apple Watch owners, and Fitbit users – not surprising as these are by far the biggest selling devices.
Read on for more details on the latest wearable recalls (or lack thereof) and the ones that aren’t being recalled but warrant a deeper look due to issues plaguing the devices.
WEAR – Samsung and Motorola
So far, it seems like Sammie and Moto haven’t seen many peeps about burns and rashes from angry customers. Of course, there’s the odd person whose skin will have an allergic reaction to the materials used, but generally, the two companies have managed to stay out of the spotlight for wrist related allergies.
The earlier Gear Fit irritated a few arms but the Gear Fit2 and Gear S smartwatch haven’t received anything negative in terms of irritated skin. The same can be said for the Moto 360 line, including the Sport version.
NEARLY THERE – Apple Watch and Fitbit
Apple’s received plenty of complaints about the Apple Watch giving people burns. There have also been gripes about Watch rashes too. Nothing has been done to hint at a recall – though Apple has said its done more testing and stated there are no anomalies that would cause burns or rashes. According to a recent report, most Watch users also sound pretty satisfied with their purchase despite the burn stories (and bad battery life and so forth).
As mentioned previously, Fitbit’s already recalled the Fitbit Force due to rash complaints but there’s been more outcry over rashes from other Fitbit trackers like the Charge and Charge HR. It’s been a while since complaints have been lodged and written about but there’s still an ongoing discussion in our forum. The company hasn’t made any moves towards a recall again though. Perhaps the numbers just aren’t high enough in this case.
SQUARE – McDonald’s and Basis
McDonald’s sure takes the cake for square wearable this week. The kid-focused Step-it fitness tracker was recalled in the same week it launched thanks to reports of burns. It was an odd idea from the beginning considering you’re trying to get fit while eating junk food…
Speaking of getting fit, the Basis Peak gets a mention in the square section as well since it’s been recalled because of overheating issues that were causing burns. Customers can get refunds but many loyal users, who haven’t experienced problems, are left in a bit of a pickle. Let’s hope tech companies finetune which materials and components play nice with our skin and that this isn’t an ongoing trend with wearables.
