Apple quietly disables ‘lifesaving’ health feature from its smartwatches to skirt around ban that kicks in at 5pm EST TODAY – but tech giant will still charge up to $400 price tag!
Apple quietly disabled a health feature from its smartwatches overnight to avoid a complete sales ban in the US.
A software update was released after news broke that imports and sales of the Series 9 and Ultra would be halted on Thursday, causing the blood oxygen monitor that analyzes breathing and lung function.
The tech giant was forced to drop the feature or be banned from selling smartwatches starting Thursday at 5 p.m. ET.
The ruling came after a trade watchdog determined that Apple had stolen hardware from a California biotech company.
Despite lowering the quality of the two Apple Watches, the company will not change prices, Apple told DailyMail.com.
Apple has removed the blood oxygen feature from its smartwatches to avoid a complete ban on the models in the US
The Series 9 starts at $399 and the Ultra costs $1,000.
Apple said the cost is based on the many features of the two smartwatches and that removing one smartwatch will make no difference in the price.
The blood oxygen function is still available on previously purchased units.
But it is disabled on those still on shevles.
Now when a user taps the blood oxygen icon on a custom watch, the display shows an alert that directs the person to an explanation on Apple’s website, the company said.
A federal court was set to ban the import and sale of the Series 9 and Ultra at 5pm ET on Thursday over claims that the tech giant copied patented medical technology from California-based biotech company Massimo.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said this month that Apple could continue selling the devices in the meantime if it redesigns and replaces the hardware, but so far the software has only been tweaked.
Apple argued that it would likely win its appeal and that upholding the ban would harm the company, its suppliers and the public.
However, the committee countered that Apple’s arguments amount to “little more” than a patent infringer “asking permission to continue infringing” and that it would reinstate the pause on sales and imports today.
Apple said it “strongly disagrees” with the ITC decision and resulting orders and that they should be reversed.
In a statement, Joe Kiani, the founder and CEO of Masimo, said Wednesday’s court ruling “affirms that even the largest and most powerful companies must respect the intellectual rights of American inventors and face the consequences if they are caught violating of others’. patents.’
Joe Kiani, the founder of Masimo, said that a software fix would not be an adequate solution and that ‘the hardware needs to change’
The battle between the two companies began in 2013, when Masimo accused Apple of entering into talks with the company about a possible partnership, only to steal the biotech startup’s idea and poach some of its engineers to develop it. implement.
Masimo first complained in 2021 that the Apple Watch Series 6, released in 2020, and all subsequent models use technology that infringes on the blood-oxygen sensor patent.
According to Forbes, Kiani has spent at least $60 million fighting Apple in court.
In October, the ITC announced its ruling, finding that the devices infringed two patents owned by California-based biotech company Masimo.
Apple decided to halt sales on December 18 in an effort to “take pre-emptive steps to comply should the ruling stand.”
“Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure Apple Watch is available to customers,” the company said in a December statement.
The ban went into effect on December 24, leaving the decision to the Biden administration, which opted not to veto a ruling on patent infringement.
It’s rare for a president to veto an ITC decision, but Apple has benefited from such intervention in the past and was likely hopeful it could happen again. But the Biden administration remained silent.
Apple subsequently filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals in an attempt to pause the ban, which went into effect on December 28, allowing retailers to resume sales.
However, the move was temporary and sales have been halted again.
A spokesman for Masimo told DailyMail.com last month: ‘Masimo is prepared to reach a settlement.
“As Joe Kiani stated, we believe the way forward is to engage in honest and good faith discussions with Apple to explore the various ways in which the parties can resolve their dispute.”
The Irvine-based company pioneered a sensor technology that consistently emits light through the skin to monitor oxygen saturation in the blood.
Apple’s technology shines red and near-infrared (IR) light into blood-perfused tissue.
According to the company’s website, Masimo, founded by Joe Kiani in 1989, holds thousands of healthcare and consumer-oriented patents.
Records show Masimo is valued at $6.69 billion, and Kiani’s net worth is $1.3 billion.
Apple has also claimed that Masimo filed a patent after Apple launched its smartwatches.
Apple has included a pulse oximeter function in smartwatches since the Series 6 Apple Watch in 2020.
The Cupertino-based company filed two patent infringement lawsuits against Masimo in October 2022, alleging that Kiani’s company copied patented features from the Apple Watch for use in its medical technology.