Apple To Remove Blood Oxygen Sensor From Series 9, Ultra 2 Smartwatches

(RTTNews) - Apple Inc. is removing a blood-oxygen feature from its latest Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches with a view to avoiding a U.S. ban amid the ongoing patent dispute with medical-technology company Masimo Corp.

As per a filing by Masimo with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Apple's redesigned watch products definitively do not contain pulse oximetry functionality.

The move is likely to help avoid further sales disruptions of the tech major's latest Watch models, which were banned in October by the U.S. International Trade Commission or ITC after finding that they infringed two patents owned by Masimo and Cercacor Laboratories, Inc. related to the blood-oxygen feature.

Masimo's filing shows that the Exclusion Order Enforcement Branch or EOE of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is responsible for enforcing import bans, last Friday decided that Apple's redesign falls outside the scope of the remedial orders in the ITC Investigation underlying Apple's appeal.

Apple had appealed the ITC decision to ban the sales of its Watches, and filed an emergency request for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to halt the ban at least until U.S. Customs and Border Protection decides whether redesigned versions of its watches infringe Masimo's patents.

The tech major had halted sales of its new watch models briefly after the ITC ban came into effect from December 26 and after President Joe Biden's administration declined to veto the ban. However, after the federal appeals court paused the ban, Apple in late December had resumed the sales of Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the United States temporarily.

A decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals on Apple's request for a permanent stay on the ban while it appeals the ITC ruling is expected in the coming days.

An Apple spokesperson reportedly said that the watches would continue to include the blood-oxygen feature for the time being, and the removal of the feature won't be necessary during the appeals process if the requested permanent stay is granted.

However, if the Appeals court doesn't grant a permanent stay on the U.S. trade ban, the removal of the feature would be implemented.