Apple has made important changes to the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 due to a patent dispute with Masimo medical tech company. The conflict led to a ban on importing watches with the Blood Oxygen feature in the U.S. This means the latest watches in the U.S. won’t have this feature. The dispute arises from a legal disagreement over patents.
In this article, we will explain the main reason and what these changes mean for users of these Apple Watch models.
What Happened Earlier on Apple Watch
Apple made a cool feature called Blood Oxygen for their watches in 2020. But then, another company named Masimo said Apple copied their idea and took them to court. The judge in the U.S. International Trade Commission agreed with Masimo and told Apple they could not sell watches with that feature in the U.S. anymore.
So, if you buy a new Apple Watch in the U.S., it won’t have this Blood Oxygen thing. It is like when you are playing a game, and someone says you cannot use your favorite move anymore. That’s what happened to Apple.
What’s Changed
As of January 18, 2024, in case you buy a new Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2 inside the U.S., it won’t have the Blood Oxygen feature anymore. It’s like they took away a unique tool from the watch. The ones without the Blood Oxygen component have a specific part number that ends with LW/A.
If you check Apple’s website, you will see they have modified it to allow people to know about this. They delivered massive signs on the store pages and made adjustments to their contrast tool. It is like they are announcing, “Hey, this watch would not have that cool blood component anymore”.
User Experience
If you buy such a watch in the U.S., you will still see the Blood Oxygen app on your watch. But when you attempt to use it utilizing tapping on it, you may get a message announcing that it will not work anymore.
It’s like having a button on your smartphone that used to play your favored sport, but now while you press it, a message pops up saying the game is long past. Apple did this because the huge bosses in charge (known as ITC) informed them they couldn’t promote watches with the blood thing, so they made the app display up however no longer genuinely works. It is a piece like a problematic compromise.
Apple doesn’t agree with the decision made by the ITC. So, they are arguing about it. Now, the rule is in the U.S., Apple can not sell watches with the cool Blood Oxygen feature for now. But, if you are in another country, you are in luck! People there can still have the Blood Oxygen in their Apple Watches. So, if you are not in the U.S., you can keep enjoying the Blood Oxygen feature on your Apple Watch.
Future Possibilities
Apple took away the Blood Oxygen feature from their watches, but they are not giving up. They are asking the court to change its mind. If they succeed, they might bring back the Blood Oxygen feature in future updates.
But for now, if you are in the U.S., using the Apple Watch won’t have that cool Blood Oxygen monitoring. So, people in the U.S. will have to wait and see if it comes back.
Apple made some changes to their watches because of a legal issue about who came up with a cool feature first. Apple is trying to follow the rules set by the law, but what will happen to the Blood Oxygen feature is still up in the air. People are waiting to see if Apple can change the court’s decision.
The good news is that people in other countries can still use the cool health feature, showing that these arguments about who owns ideas can affect people all around the world.