Apple will stop sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in the US starting this week to comply with a US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling on patent disputes with Masimo.
Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 Pulled
This comes after the ruling from ITC that bans Apple from selling the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in the US. Apple was given until today to take down the watches in the website and remove it in physical stores starting December 24.
Medical device maker Masimo previously filed two cases against Apple regarding the company using the medical device maker’s technology in the SpO2 sensor in the aforementioned watches. One of these cases was filed with the US District Court in California in 2020, while the other was with the ITC in 2021.
Apple released a statement to 9to5Mac where in the company said:
“While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand. This includes pausing sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Apple.com starting December 21, and from Apple retail locations after December 24.
Apple’s teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features. 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.”
The ruling is now in the hands of US President Joe Biden who can uphold the ban or veto it.
Possible work around from Apple?
According to Bloomberg, the company is working on software updates to the algorithms of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 that measure blood oxygen.
Apple believes that changing how the Watch measures oxygen saturation could keep the problem Watches on the shelves, especially during the holiday season. This, however, was presented to the ITC for approval.
Masimo CEO Joe Kiana said to Bloomberg that he would be open to settling with Apple but there has been no call yet.
Moreover, when asked about the fix that Apple is working on, he said, “I don’t think that could work — it shouldn’t — because our patents are not about the software. They are about the hardware with the software.”
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.
