United States: Apple has planned to ban the latest Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 smartwatches in the United States beginning on December 21.
Due to a continuous disagreement about the blood oxygen feature with medical device manufacturer Masimo, the company decided to remove one of its best-selling products from the market. Apple has consistently promoted its smartwatch as a life-saving tool, which has helped propel the device into the stratosphere and make it the most widely-sold watch globally. However, its conflict with Masimo puts that in jeopardy.
The US International Trade Commission declared in October that Apple was infringing on Masimo’s patent for the pulse oximeter, which measures blood oxygen levels using light-based technology. The ban may not take effect until after President Biden has had 60 days to review the decision.
“While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand. Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers,” the company said in a statement.
According to the company, it will “continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the US as soon as possible” if the court upholds the order.”
Other models will still be on sale, but all Apple Watch Ultra models imported after the end of an upcoming review period will be prohibited, as will Apple Watch Series 6 and later models. Apple claims that it won’t affect the Apple Watch SE’s sales, though, as per the statement.
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