Apple is suspending sales of both blood oxygen-sensing devices in the United States in advance of an import prohibition pertaining to patents.
Apple is embroiled in a legal dispute with Masimo, a medical technology company based in southern California, regarding the use of built-in blood oxygen sensors. Apple has decided not to sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which monitor users’ blood oxygen levels, in the US until the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has determined whether or not these devices violate Masimo’s patents.
After the ITC upheld a judge’s earlier finding that Apple had used Masimo’s patented pulse oximetry technology in some of its Watch devices, and ordered a ban on Series 9 and Ultra 2 imports into the US, tensions between the two companies surfaced in October. The order was subject to presidential review, so it took some time to take effect, and for a while it looked like Apple would not alter its product offerings.
“While today‘s decision has no immediate impact on sales of Apple Watch, we believe it should be reversed, and we will continue our efforts to appeal,” an Apple spokesperson told Reuters on October 26. “Masimo has wrongly attempted to use the ITC to keep a potentially life-saving product from millions of US consumers while making way for their own watch that copies Apple.”
President Biden’s Dec. 25 deadline is rapidly approaching, so it appears Apple is hedging its bets. A statement sent to 9to5Mac states that the company is “preemptively” working toward complying with the ITC’s order by pulling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 off shelves. As of 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 21, neither device will be available on Apple’s website. In-store units will become unavailable after Dec. 24. However, presidents rarely veto ITC import bans, so it appears Apple is hedging its bets.
Apple released a statement saying, “Should the order stand, Apple will continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the US as soon as possible. Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers.”
Third-party retailers are allowed to continue selling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 because the ITC’s order is only directed at Apple. However, this may not last long if Biden approves the ITC’s ban, which would prohibit imports of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 starting on December 25, prohibiting retailers from placing orders for and selling additional units, leaving only the Apple Watch SE, which is the entry-level model and does not have a pulse oximeter, available to consumers.