The MagSafe technology that is featured on certain Apple iPhone models might pose a risk to people with pacemakers. The American Heart Association has issued a warning about the possible interference from the MagSafe for people at risk.

According to an AHA research paper, the pacemaker made by three major brands, including Medtronic, Abbott, and Boston Scientific, were all vulnerable to magnetic interference. In other words, this is potentially quite dangerous for people that have these pacemakers as they might not work correctly. For those unaware, pacemakers are a small device that is used to treat arrhythmia, which causes the heart to beat too fast or too slow or even erratic at times.

AHA noted that “Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max MagSafe technology can cause magnet interference on CIEDs [more commonly known as pacemakers] and has the potential to inhibit lifesaving therapy.” MagSafe from the Cupertino based giant offers wireless charging capabilities and uses magnets to quickly charge devices. Furthermore, the number of magnets housed in the iPhone 12 models is higher than those present in the earlier versions of the device.

When the iPhones were placed close to 11 different pacemakers and defibrillators, with some implanted in patients and others not. This test resulted in three of the internal devices registering some interferences along with eight of the external ones as well. These interferences could potentially lead to “asynchronous pacing or disabling of anti‐tachycardic therapies.” In a previous statement, Apple had suggested people with pacemakers keep the iPhone and MagSafe accessories more than six inches away from their devices.

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On July 22, during the launch of the Xiaomi Mi4, Lei Jun announced the release of Xiaomi’s own armband, the Xiaomi MiBand. So, how is it？

Two kinds of armbands

       Many companies take a different approach in releasing smart armbands. There are the 360 safety bands which needs access to the company’s official network just like a pocket-size telephone. It is the only device whose sole function is to point out the user’s location.

There is definitely a market for this. Even though the 360 is still undergoing beta testing, there are already hundreds of expensive copies in Taobao per week. This should definitely be useful for children and the elderly, especially those with dementia.

Another type of band is the accessory type, the kind that has to be connected to a cell phone by Blu Tooth. The MiBand is the second type.

How practical is the MiBand?

       The MiBand is actually not that practical as it does not offer the functions that most users need and it’s the MiPhone’s apps that actually do the job. For example, the MiBand has a pacemaker feature which can only be accessed by downloading the pacemaker app on Xiaomi’s app store. Why not use the MiPhone as a pacemaker instead of spending money on an armband? The MiBand is really more an interesting digital toy than an actual tool.

However, regardless of how impractical it is, its sales are pretty good since it is more affordable than most armbands at 79 RMB (11.32 USD).

The potential of wearable electronic devices

As of now, most wearable devices are more of luxury items than actual tools with any practical use. However, it actually has potential uses in certain fields. Unfortunately, not a lot manufacturers see this yet. It could truly make a difference in fields such as medicine, education, engineering, outdoors, the military, etc. These industries are the future of wearable devices.

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