{"id":859503,"date":"2026-08-15T22:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T22:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/859503\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T22:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T22:38:10","slug":"google-pixel-watch-5-band-ditches-carcinogenic-material-used-in-many-smartwatch-straps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/859503\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Pixel Watch 5 band ditches carcinogenic material used in many smartwatch straps"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Google Pixel Watch 5, which was shown off at the most recent Made By Google event<\/a>, is now shipping with a newer, carcinogen-free band.<\/p>\n

The search giant\u2019s new smartwatch ships with a \u201csecond-gen\u201d Active Band<\/a>, which\u00a0Android Police<\/a>\u00a0discovered doesn\u2019t include carcinogenic materials used in many other smartwatch bands.<\/p>\n

These materials, called fluoroelastomers, contain high levels of \u201cforever chemicals\u201d called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)<\/a>, which were first detected in a 2024 study conducted\u00a0at the University of Notre Dame<\/a>. This study also noted that the chemicals were leaching out of the band under simulated sweat and skin conditions.<\/p>\n

Now, the 2024 study didn\u2019t look at the long-term effects of wearing the watch bands, but it did raise concerns surrounding daily wear \u2014 especially as these bands come with devices that include fitness features and are often intended to be worn during exercise.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, even trace amounts of PFAS can cause long-term damage to the body, such as altered immune and thyroid function, liver and kidney disease, lipid and insulin dysregulation, adverse reproductive and developmental outcomes, and certain types of cancer.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0Android Police\u00a0noted that there are still certain types of sport bands that contain fluoroelastomers. That includes Google\u2019s first-gen active band, Apple\u2019s Sport, Ocean, and Solo Loop bands<\/a>, most Withings watch bands<\/a>, and the OnePlus strap for the Watch 2 and 3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, the second generation of the Active Band uses HNBR, short for Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber, a medical-grade, safe compound used in many products like food-contact materials and wearables, like Samsung\u2019s Galaxy Watch band.<\/p>\n

HNBR is widely known as being both biocompatible and skin-safe, so it\u2019s great to see Google making that transition. Here\u2019s hoping we see Apple and other tech companies follow suit.<\/p>\n

Source: Android Police<\/a><\/p>\n

Header image credit: Google<\/p>\n

MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Google Pixel Watch 5, which was shown off at the most recent Made By Google event, is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":859504,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[49,48,299148,195,192,262163,17898,279663,155782,61],"class_list":["post-859503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-carcinogens","tag-gadgets","tag-google","tag-google-pixel-watch-5","tag-pixel-watch","tag-pixel-watch-5","tag-smart-watch","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=859503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=859503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=859503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=859503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}