Apple Watch would remove a blood oxygen monitoring feature from two flagship Apple Watch models Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the United States as stated by the company on January 17. Apple Watch oxygen sensor removal is owing to the iPhone maker’s fight in a legal battle over patents on the technology behind the feature.
(Image Credit: apple)The Apple watch blood oxygen legal fight could take a year to resolve. Analysts had expected Apple would strike the feature, which is marketed for fitness uses, rather than pull devices from sale in one of its biggest markets.
Apple Watch sale without blood oxygen feature
The company said Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models would go on sale without the blood oxygen feature on its website and stores in the U,S, on January 18.
Existing Apple Watches are not affected by the orders, nor are devices sold outside the U.S.
Apple stock
Apple shares closed 0.5 per cent lower at US$182.68 on after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on January 17 that the company could no longer sell the models at the center of a the legal battle with medical technology company Masimo.
Legal battle between Apple Watch and Masimo
In December, Masimo secured a decision from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to halt imports of the Apple Watches . Apple Watches comprise about a quarter of the global smartwatch market with usage of oxygen sensor, according to Counterpoint Research.
In a statement on January 17, Joe Kiani, Masimo’s founder and chief executive, said the latest court ruling “affirms that even the largest and most powerful companies must respect the intellectual rights of American inventors and must deal with the consequences when they are caught infringing others’ patents.”
The company “strongly disagreed” with the ITC decision and resulting orders and they should be should be reversed.
Apple Watch sales
Apple does not break out Apple Watch or U.S. sales figures specifically, but about 42% of its overall revenue came from North America last year.
While Apple Watch sales are far smaller than those of Apple’s flagship iPhone, the device anchors the company’s wearables sales segment, which accounted for US$39.84 billion (S$53.6 billion) of Apple’s overall US$383.29 billion in sales for fiscal 2023.
ITC import ban
The ITC’s import ban on Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches briefly went into effect on December 26. The Federal Circuit lifted the ban on December 27 while it considered Apple’s request for a long-term pause, and Apple resumed sales of the smartwatches later that day.
Masimo has accused Apple of hiring away its employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology to use in Apple Watches. The ITC barred imports and direct Apple sales of Apple Watches that read blood-oxygen levels following a Masimo complaint.
Apple has included a pulse oximeter feature in smartwatches since its Series 6 Apple Watch in 2020. It has counter-sued Masimo for patent infringement, calling Masimo’s legal actions a “manoeuvre to clear a path” for its own competing watch.
