If you are looking to buy the new Apple Watch Series 9 or the Apple Watch Ultra 2 from the US then here’s the bad news for you. Apple Watches in the US will no longer sell with one important feature: blood oxygen monitoring.
The reason for this major change is a lawsuit over patent infringement. The Cupertino-based tech giant is currently embroiled in a lawsuit against Masimo, a California-based health technology firm. And Masimo is winning so far. So what has happened and should you buy the Apple Watch in India?
Apple is Actually Removing Blood Oxygen Monitoring?
Back in October, Apple lost the patent case with Masimo over the blood-oxygen measurement technology at the International Trade Commission (ITC). The ITC ruling had in effect banned sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2– yes the Apple Watches were banned from going on sale in the US.
Here’s the matter
Apple complied with this ruling in December pulling the watches off retail shelves before Christmas. There was also an import ban for Apple Watches in the US. Now, according to Reuters, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Apple cannot sell models which use the disputed technology. The workaround is that Apple is removing the feature from its watches for now.
Masimo’s case is that Apple poached its top executives to build the blood oxygen monitoring technology and infringed on its patents. While Apple has appealed the ruling, it has got approval from US customs that it can continue to sell the watches as long as the infringing feature is removed.
Apple will likely appeal the decision and in a statement said it “strongly disagrees” with the ITC’s decision. According to a New York Times report, the app for blood oxygen monitoring will continue to show on the newly sold Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. But if a user taps on it now a message will pop up saying that the feature no longer works. For those who already have an Apple Watch with the feature, it will continue to work just fine.
