Apple Watches sans blood oxygen feature go on sale today
Apple's Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 sans blood oxygen feature will go on sale in the US, starting 6:00am PT today (7:30pm IST). This comes after Apple's plea to halt the ban on its devices with blood oxygen facility by the International Trade Commission (ITC), was turned down by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The ITC had earlier determined that these devices violated two patents by the medical device maker Masimo.
What about their availability?
In the US, the tweaked watches will be up for grabs via Apple's website starting today. They will be sold through the company's retail stores as well. No such tweaks have been announced for the Indian market.
Reasons for denying Apple's request
Apple's request to pause the ban was denied by the court, which considered four factors: "(1) whether the movant has made a strong showing of likelihood of success on the merits; (2) whether the movant will be irreparably harmed absent a stay; (3) whether issuance of the stay will substantially injure other parties; and (4) where the public interest lies." After evaluating these factors, the court rejected Apple's motion, without making any judgment on the appeal's merits.
Impact on Apple Watch sales
The US Customs agency has determined that Apple's suggested software modification for the Apple watches, which eliminates blood oxygen features, is not covered by the ITC ruling. This implies that these devices do not infringe on Masimo patents as long as they don't "contain pulse oximetry features." Apple will keep selling these watches but will deactivate the blood oxygen function through a firmware update. This alteration will only affect newly-sold Apple Watches in the US, and won't impact existing owners.
