A report from The New York Times over the weekend highlights the small — but apparently growing — trend of users wearing their Apple Watches on their ankles. What’s becoming something of a viral sensation on social platforms like TikTok is the result of a pragmatic decision. Some Apple Watch owners’ wrists are simply too small to get a proper read with on-board sensors like heart-rate monitoring.
Others to join the movement include healthcare workers, whose jobs prohibit them from wearing anything on their wrists, and people whose wrist tattoos confuse the watch’s sensors. (One resourceful watch wearer discovered a Velcro strap from off-brand retailer Marshalls fit comfortably over the ankle.) Apple declined to comment on the trend, though the company has previously noted that its smartwatch is calibrated specifically for the wrist.
The report arrives ahead of Apple’s expected Powerbeats Pro 2 launch, the company’s first headphones with built-in heart-rate monitoring.