The decision to sell two of its latest smartwatches without a key health-centric feature comes after legal setbacks in a patent infringement case. At the center of the dispute is Masimo, a company that develops medical tech, including those targeted at wearable form factors. Masimo was reportedly in touch with Apple even before the debut of the first Apple smartwatch. However, no partnership materialized between the two. Apple allegedly poached talent from Masimo, and a few years later, it introduced blood oxygen measurement capability on the Apple Watch Series 6.
The long-drawn-out legal battle eventually reached the United States International Trade Commission, which ruled that Apple infringed upon Masimo’s patented tech and imposed an import ban on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. Apple sought an interim stay on the ban, but earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied Apple’s request to extend the stay. In the wake of the U.S. ITC ruling, Apple began shipping units of the affected models with the pulse oximetry system disabled. Now that any immediate legal avenues for relief have dried up, Apple has started selling the two smartwatches without the blood oxygen analysis feature disabled out of the box.
