Apple Will Remove Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Feature Over US Sales Ban
Apple was handed a sales ban covering its latest smartwatches over a patent dispute in October, and it seems the workaround will involve killing a crucial health-centric feature. According to The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, Apple is disabling the blood oxygen level measurement system on the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Ultra 2 models. The company at the center of the dispute is Masimo, which makes medical tech and dragged Apple to court for infringing on patents covering a wearable tech for measuring the level of oxygen saturation in blood.
In a filing submitted before the U. S. Customs and Border Protection, Masimo says the agency has approved the aforementioned technical change to Apple Watch models sold in the country. Apple recently asked the U. S. Court of Appeals to put a permanent stay on the sales of its current-gen smartwatches after it got no reprieve from the White House regarding the same. So far, Apple hasn't released an official statement regarding the decision to sell its smartwatches without a key health feature in tow.
Apple has already started shipping batches of modified batches of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9 without the pulse oximetry feature to its retail outlets. Interestingly, the company has yet to decide when it will start selling these tweaked units. "The stores were told not to open or sell the tweaked devices until they receive approval from Apple's corporate offices," reports Bloomberg.
A hard compromise
The future of a permanent ban on sales remains uncertain. Apple still has legal avenues left where it can appeal against it, but at the same time, the company also seems to be ready with an alternate route if things don't go well. But the decision to ship its latest smartwatches without one of the prized wellness features is a major move. Apple first introduced a blood oxygen level measurement system on the Series 6 and has continued offering it on all subsequent smartwatches after working on the tech for nearly a decade.
Masimo alleges that Apple met the company about its work on wearable pulse oximetry tech even before the first generation Apple smartwatch was released. But nothing came out of that meeting. Later, the company allegedly poached Masimo's talent and even used its tech without any due licensing deal or legal permit. On the other hand, Apple has rejected Masimo's claims and has even scored legal victories over some of the objections made by the medical tech company.
It would be interesting to see whether the dispute will spill over to the next generation of Apple smartwatches. In late 2024, the Apple Watch X, aka Series, is rumored to get a fresh design and some new health features, including non-invasive blood sugar level analysis. So far, no mainstream rival such as Samsung has managed to crack the code and ship it commercially, despite years' worth of research into miniaturizing and refining it.