Apple has ceased all sales of its new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 on its online store in the United States. This is exactly what was expected to happen on December 21, in compliance with the U.S. ITC order to halt the import of the latest Apple Watches by December 26 due to a patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo.
It is still possible to buy both watches in-person from Apple’s official stores until December 24th. Additionally, those in the US can continue to purchase from third-party retailers such as Best Buy, until they run out of stocks, of course.
US customers still have options when it comes to the Apple Watch, but they will now only be able to purchase the less expensive Apple Watch SE 2, which lacks the SpO2 sensing technology.
Why this dispute, you ask? The ITC claims that Apple’s SpO2 blood-oxygen sensing in its latest Apple Watches infringes on patents owned by Masimo.
Since the first announcement, Apple has been hard-pressed to find a workaround—and that has included temporarily delaying the ban as it awaits an appeal. However, this was notably denied.
According to Bloomberg, the iPhone maker is also attempting to make changes to the SpO2 sensing algorithm to appease regulators, but Masimo believes this won’t work, as the patents are hardware-based, and tweaking software won’t be effective. Another way for Apple to curb this ban is a potential presidential veto by the Biden administration, but the review period for this, too, ends on December 25th.
It remains to be seen how Apple will address this situation, particularly in light of the ongoing holiday season in the United States—a time when many people purchase gifts for their loved ones.
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