Pulse Ox Company Masimo Accuses Apple of Delaying Legal Battle to Sell More Apple Watches

Back in January, medical device company Masimo levied a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of stealing trade secrets and improperly using Masimo inventions related to health monitoring in the Apple Watch.

apple watch series 6 blood oxygen monitoring 1
Masimo is known for its pulse oximetry devices, and Apple just recently debuted the Apple Watch Series 6 with blood oxygen monitoring capabilities. Following the launch of the Series 6, Masimo has accused Apple of attempting to delay the legal proceedings in order to sell more watches and gain a more dominant share of the smart watch market.

As highlighted by Bloomberg, Apple has not officially responded to the original January lawsuit, instead filing requests to dismiss the trade secret part of the case and to have Masimo patents invalidated. Apple has asked the trial court to put the case on hold until the patent issue is resolved, which could take a significant amount of time.

Apple told the court that delaying the case until a patent review will narrow the issues and "reduce wasted resources." With no hold, the first hearing on the case will take place in April 2021.

According to Masimo, the potential postponement would allow Apple to "seize on a critical window of opportunity to capture an emerging field," using its "considerable resources and ecosystem" to capture market share with no regard for Masimo patent technology.

Masimo CEO Joe Kiani said in the filing that Masimo believes Apple's customers see the Series 6 as a "medical product," which can "harm consumers" and "reduce [Masimo's] opportunities to sell truly clinical-grade products to consumers."

Masimo accused Apple of stealing secret information by pretending to have a working relationship with Masimo and then poaching Masimo employees. Masimo also believes that Apple is infringing on 10 Masimo patents, and says that Apple relied on Masimo technology when developing the light-based heart rate sensor used in the Apple Watch.

Apple allegedly contacted Masimo in 2013, ahead of the launch of the original Apple Watch, and asked to meet for a potential collaboration. Apple was aiming to "understand more" about Masimo's products and was allegedly seeking to add Masimo technology to future Apple devices. Masimo said that the two companies had productive meetings, but then Apple began hiring important employees. Apple ultimately hired several Masimo employees including Michael O'Reilly, who had served as Chief Medical Officer and EVP of Medical Affairs at Masimo. He has been working on Health Special Projects at Apple, and had a hand in the development of the Apple Watch.

Masimo in its original January lawsuit asked the court to block Apple from using Masimo's patented inventions and it asked the court for damages.

Popular Stories

apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
ios 26 call holding

iOS 26 Beta is Hiding a New Ringtone — Here's What It Sounds Like

Thursday June 19, 2025 7:25 pm PDT by
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26. The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now. It...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. When the...
new iphone lockscreen ios 26

iOS 26: Five Changes Coming to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday June 17, 2025 8:46 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever. Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta. Widgets Top or Bottom In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
General Spotify Feature

Spotify Preparing to Launch Long-Awaited Lossless Audio Tier on iPhone

Thursday June 19, 2025 1:46 pm PDT by
Spotify appears to be gearing up to launch its long-awaited lossless music tier. Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) and Spicetify (via The Verge) spotted new lossless references within the code for Spotify's desktop app and web player. With assistance from Aaron Perris, MacRumors has confirmed that the latest beta of the Spotify app for the iPhone also contains new lossless-related code....
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Apple Says iOS 26 Won't Be Available on These iPhone Models

Tuesday June 10, 2025 6:58 am PDT by
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years. iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models: iPhone 16e iPhone...
Craig Federighi No

John Gruber Reacts to Apple Declining His Interview After His Criticism

Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...

Top Rated Comments

destroyer2012 Avatar
62 months ago
Well.. normally I hate frivolous suits against Apple but it definitely feels like thats pretty fishy. I'd be pissed if someone reached out to my company to collaborate, hired my best people, and then used their money to keep me from recourse.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hammerd Avatar
62 months ago
So this is what Apple is nowadays: a company that dries up smaller promising companies and that steal their IP, while wanting to be seen as a distuptive pro-environment pro-lgbt company that want to make the world a better place. This is just clowning of course, they just want everyone's money. They are even ready to kill companies that work with their platform (Tiles, fitness apps, music and movies/series streaming apps, banks... next what). That's pathetic that they act so agressively, they even sue companies that have a fruit shaped logo... and want to look like the good guys
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SpringKid Avatar
62 months ago

Masimo CEO Joe Kiani said in the filing that Masimo believes Apple's customers see the Series 6 as a "medical product," which can "harm consumers" and "reduce [Masimo's] opportunities to sell truly clinical-grade products to consumers."
In what world does this make sense? ?
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
62 months ago
Usually such behavior would be attributed to a scum bag company.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ukiyo Evenings Avatar
62 months ago

Apple is already crushing the wearables market. I dont understand the statement in this lawsuit. What percent of new users are getting the watch only because of O2 sensors? Mostly the company is concerned they join the long list of dedicated devices getting incorporated into a multifunction device.
It’s not about getting the watch exclusively for the oximeter, rather, the nullification of demand for devices as a result of having an Apple Watch that does the job. Although I hope people who do need pulse oximeters would actually get a certified medical device instead of the watch for keeping an eye on their SpO2.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Peperino Avatar
62 months ago

Honestly, I don't care about the Trade Secrets up for debate here. From my perspective, Apple brought potentially life saving tech to the masses at an affordable price. Can we please stop worrying about profits with life saving products?

If the apple watch saves someone life because of this, its well worth it IMO.
Regardless what the product does, How is it OK for Apple to steal other companies' technology? iF they are interested they can license it or buy them. But stealing is not ok.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)