(Credit: Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images)
If you own a recent Apple Watch, you'll soon regain access to blood oxygen monitoring. Later today, owners of the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 will be able to download an update that revives the feature.
On your iPhone, open the Watch app, tap General > Software Update, and look for watchOS 11.6.1. Also, go to Settings > General > Software Update and look for iOS 18.6.1. Once you've updated, check out our full rundown on what it can do and how to use it.
In late 2023, sales of two Apple Watch models with blood oxygen monitoring were suspended after Apple lost a patent dispute. Masimo, a medical tech company, holds a patent describing hardware that measures bloody oxygen. It accused Apple of poaching Masimo employees to help develop its own blood oxygen sensors for the Apple Watch. Masimo sued in district court before bringing the issue to the International Trade Commission (ITC), which ruled in Masimo's favor.
Apple issued a software update to turn the feature off and restart sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2. By the time the Series 10 debuted last year, the dispute was still going on, so that smartwatch did not include the blood oxygen feature.
Apple says it redesigned its blood oxygen feature, and that today's launch "was enabled by a recent US Customs ruling." Apple says this doesn't affect older iPhones with the original blood oxygen feature or Apple Watches purchased outside the US.
This new update will allow you to start a Blood Oxygen monitoring session on the Apple Watch, and the data will sync with your iPhone. The Respiratory section within the Apple Health app will provide a full breakdown of the results.