You May Not Be Able To Buy The Latest Apple Watches After December 24th
Christmas Eve is officially the last day the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will be available for purchase for the foreseeable future. The company announced that it will stop online sales of its latest wearable devices at 3:00 p.m. ET on December 21st and suspend in-store sales to take effect after December 24th.
Imminent unavailability is not due to a serious recall notice for safety reasons. This is actually an ongoing patent dispute. Medical device maker Masimo claims Apple cloned its blood oxygen measurement technology after a series of collaboration discussions that began in 2013, according to legal documents. Massimo has also poached a number of employees for the future design of the Apple Watch.
[Related: Apple Watch Comparison. Which one is right for you? ]
Special technology for monitoring blood oxygen levels is only available on the latest Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models, hence the special suspension system. When turned on, the advanced wearable optical system illuminates the “blood-rich tissue” of the wrist with red and near-infrared light. Light sensors then capture and process the retransmitted image signals, called photoplethysmograms (PPGs), to track the heartbeat. These are then converted into a reading of the user's blood oxygen level. Previous versions like the Series 8 and Watch SE are not affected by the patent lawsuit because they do not contain the hardware that Massimo claims infringes the patent.
“Before Masimo, pulse oximeters were unreliable, gave inaccurate readings, and often triggered false alarms,” the healthcare company’s “About Us” page states, claiming that Masimo “revolutionized the industry” with its signal extraction technology.
A U.S. judge ruled in Masimo's favor in January 2023 after years of litigation defending the healthcare company's patent infringement claims for the Apple Watch's blood oxygen sensors. Although Apple appealed the decision, an International Trade Commission ruling in October upheld the original assessment. Although the Biden administration had 60 days to appeal the ITC's decision, its silence on the matter prompted Apple to announce the "preemptive" removal of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from the US market.
“Apple categorically rejects this matter and is considering a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch remains available to consumers,” the company said in a statement to media on December 18. “If the request is approved, Apple will make every effort to return them to U.S. customers as quickly as possible.”
If President Biden ultimately does not veto the decision, Apple plans to appeal the ITC decision to the U.S. District Court. The two Masimo patents mentioned by ITC expire in August 2028. There is also the possibility that the parties could reach an out-of-court settlement, possibly including a licensing agreement, that would permanently end the dispute. In any case, be prepared to settle for the Apple Watch Series 8 or earlier for now.
The last time a presidential administration used a veto on Apple's behalf was in 2013, when President Obama ruled in the company's favor in an iPhone and iPad patent dispute with Samsung. A few months before the veto, Chief Medical Officer Massimo left his position at the company to work for Apple.
