Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Wearables
  3. News

Bubbling burns and annoying rashes plague some Apple Watch users

Malarie Gokey
By

Apple Watch Wrist
Giuseppe Costantino/Shutterstock
Wearables bring technology closer to our bodies than any other devices in recent memory. Since wearables are always on your body, they can also accidentally harm you or irritate your skin. The most recent wearable to turn on its users is the Apple Watch. Apparently, a number of users are reporting burns from the device itself, as well as unsightly rashes.

One Apple Watch user named Paula Cerutti told the publication Fusion that she started to feel like something was burning her wrist about an hour into her workout. She figured her Apple Watch Sport was strapped on too tightly, and loosened the band to give her wrist some breathing room. Later that night, Cerutti found bubbling blisters on her wrist where the Apple Watch had been, and the Watch was hot to the touch.

Recommended Videos

She complained about the incident on Twitter, added a picture, and stated that Apple hadn’t been helpful when she reported the issue.

Related

Other Apple Watch users, including an iOS developer, experienced similar burns and posted pictures of their injuries on Twitter or Instagram. Some are not sure if the Apple Watch is burning their skin or they are simply getting a rash from the friction of the device and the band. Rashes from wearables, especially those with silicon bands, are not uncommon. Fitbit users have had the same problems for years.

Apple has yet to address the issue of burns specifically, though it does mention skin irritation and rashes on its support page for the Apple Watch. The company recommends taking a break from the device and loosening the band to give your wrist more room to breathe. Of course, if the watch itself is burning users, that’s another problem entirely that’s much more serious and can’t be resolved with a simple loosening of the band.

We’ll keep you updated on the story, if Apple responds.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Malarie Gokey
Malarie Gokey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…
Is the Apple Watch Series 9 waterproof?
Exercise data showing on the Apple Watch Series 9.

The Apple Watch Series 9, released in September 2023, is the latest addition to Apple's line of smartwatches. Alongside the Apple Watch Ultra 2, the Series 9 boasts many impressive features and upgrades.

The Apple Watch Series 9 resembles its predecessor, the Apple Watch Series 8, in terms of design. However, it does come with a few notable improvements. The watch offers more peak brightness, which makes it easier to view in bright sunlight, and the new chip is faster and more efficient than the previous model. It can also process some Siri requests entirely on-device, allowing you to perform certain commands even when not connected to your iPhone.

Read more
One feature will make the Apple smart ring worth waiting for
An Apple smart ring concept by Jonas Daehnert

The wearable market is constantly evolving. It started with fitness trackers that were worn on your wrist, and then we got smartwatches such as the Apple Watch in 2015. These days, smartwatches are a dime a dozen, but we are quickly entering a new era of wearables: the smart ring. One of the first smart rings to hit the market was the Oura Ring, which launched in 2015 through a Kickstarter campaign. The second iteration came out in 2018, and the current third generation of the Oura Ring was released in 2021.

I’ve been using the Oura Ring for several years now, but many competitors have shown up in the space recently: Movano’s Evie Ring, the RingConn Smart Ring, Ultrahuman Ring Air, Circular Ring Slim, and more. Samsung even teased its own upcoming Galaxy Ring at the end of its January 2024 Galaxy Unpacked event.

Read more
5 features I want in the Apple Watch Ultra 3
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 laying on the ground, showing the Modular Ultra watch face.

When Apple debuted the Apple Watch Ultra in 2022, it was one of the company’s best new products that year. After years of rumors and speculation, it finally arrived and exceeded expectations with the best battery life for an Apple Watch, incredibly useful new features like the Action button, a super-bright and large display, and more.

A year later, Apple launched the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Though still a great smartwatch, it felt a bit more like an iterative upgrade than something big. It had a new S9 processor that allowed for the Double Tap gesture and localized Siri requests, and an even brighter display. But otherwise, it looked identical to the original Apple Watch Ultra.

Read more