(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo/PCMag)
Apple plans to stop selling its newest Apple Watch models—the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2—later this week due to an ongoing patent dispute involving the device’s blood oxygen sensor technology, 9to5Mac reports.
If you have one of these devices on your Christmas list, make sure you get one before Thursday. Online sales of the device will end at 3 p.m. ET on Dec. 21, and stores will stop selling the watches after Dec. 24, Apple confirms in an email to PCMag.
There's a chance this might not happen. Apple is pre-emptively announcing the sales stoppage ahead of a Dec. 25 deadline for President Biden to veto an International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling that imposed the ban. Perhaps Cupertino believes a few "Apple to stop selling one of its more popular products" headlines will nudge Biden to act.
(Credit: PCMag/Angela Moscaritolo)As Reuters reports, the case dates back to 2013, when Apple met with Masimo, reportedly to discuss a collaboration between the two brands. According to Masimo, Apple used the meeting to identify talent to poach, which it did, including Masimo’s chief medical officer. The goal of the meetings, the company alleges, was to steal its blood oxygen sensor technology.
After the Apple Watch Series 6 launched in 2020 with a blood oxygen sensor, Masimo sued in a district court. When the case didn't move fast enough, though, it filed a complaint with the ITC a year later. And while the district court case ended in a mistrial in May, the ITC ruled in Masimo's favor in October.
The ITC ban only impacts the Series 9 and Ultra 2, which offer blood oxygen monitoring functionality. The Apple Watch SE, which does not include the sensor, will continue to be sold.
In a statement, Apple said its "teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features. 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.
"Should the order stand, Apple 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," it adds.