The Apple Watch ban saga has taken a new twist, and it’s one that Apple isn’t happy about at all. In an unprecedented move, Apple has confirmed that it is now selling revised versions of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the US starting today (January 18) without the now-banned blood oxygen features.
These new versions of the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are available for purchase today at the online Apple Store starting at 6 a.m. PT, as well as in physical Apple Stores today. said Apple a statement to 9to5Mac that the measure is “pending appeal” and that “we believe that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit should reverse the USITC’s decision.”
Despite Apple’s protests, a US appeals court has rejected Apple’s bid to pause a ban on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. The ban was issued after the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Apple’s watches infringed on Apple’s blood oxygen patents. medical technology company Massimo, with the result that Apple cannot sell smartwatches that include the feature in question.
The feature was fixed in a software update and Apple didn’t have to make any expensive hardware changes. That means the feature could potentially be re-enabled in the future if subsequent court rulings go in Apple’s favor. Apple also explained that affected Watch models sold before the appeals court ruling will remain unaffected and can continue to use the blood oxygen feature, just like models sold outside the US.
A serious setback
The Apple Watch is unlikely to lose its place as the best smartwatch you can buy, even without this prominent feature. But nevertheless, it’s a situation that Apple is clearly unhappy with, and one that the company hopes will be reversed sooner or later.
The company has updated its website with a prominent banner noting the feature’s absence. Despite Apple’s disagreement with the decision, it is likely that it will have to keep the blood oxygen feature disabled for the foreseeable future, as the company has said it believes the appeals process could take more than a year.
Although this feature has been removed, we don’t expect Apple to remove the blood oxygen sensors themselves from the next Apple Watch, which will launch in September.
If Apple’s call is successful, it will want to re-enable the feature as soon as possible, but that won’t work if the sensors are missing. Additionally, physically removing it would require updating manufacturing processes for what could only be a temporary setback, which would be extremely expensive and inconvenient for Apple.