Apple Pausing Sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in U.S. Due to Patent Dispute
Apple today said it will be pausing sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the U.S. later this week due to an ongoing patent dispute with medical tech company Masimo related to blood oxygen sensing.
In a statement
shared with 9to5Mac, Apple said the Series 9 and Ultra 2 will no longer be available to purchase on Apple's online store in the U.S. starting December 21 (after 12 p.m. Pacific Time), or from Apple retail stores in the U.S. after December 24. The devices will remain available to purchase in other countries.
In October, the ITC ordered a ban on some Apple Watch imports into the U.S. after finding that Apple violated Masimo's patents related to non-invasive blood oxygen sensing, also known as pulse oximetry. U.S. President Joe Biden has until December 25 to review the order, but presidential vetoes of ITC import bans have historically been rare. In the meantime, Apple said it is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand.
Apple added that it "strongly disagrees" with the ITC's order and is "pursuing a range of legal and technical options" to ensure that availability of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 resumes in the U.S. as soon as possible. Apple told 9to5Mac that it plans to appeal the ITC's order with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on December 26 if necessary.
Apple's full statement:
A Presidential Review Period is in progress regarding an order from the U.S. International Trade Commission on a technical intellectual property dispute pertaining to Apple Watch devices containing the Blood Oxygen feature. While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand. This includes pausing sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Apple.com starting December 21, and from Apple retail locations after December 24. The decision does not impact sales of the devices in other countries at this time.
Apple's 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 U.S. as soon as possible.
Since 2020, Masimo has accused Apple of poaching its employees and stealing trade secrets in order to develop the blood oxygen sensing feature available on the Apple Watch Series 6 and newer. In January, an ITC judge ruled that Apple had infringed on a Masimo patent relating to light-based technology for reading blood-oxygen levels.
In a statement today, Masimo said "the decision to exclude certain foreign-made models of the Apple Watch demonstrates that even the world's most powerful company must abide by the law," and it believes the ITC's order should be respected.
Popular Stories
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about.
New Apple Intelligence Languages
Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese.
AirPo...
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device.
Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors.
Likely Features
N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7
Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese.
Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W.
The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max
61W USB-C Power Adapter
67W USB-C Power Adapter
70W USB-C Power Adapter
96W USB-C Power Adapter
140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues.
Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed.
French blog Consomac also reported on this topic.
The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black.
Images Credit: Consoma ...
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead.
Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors.
Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
Digital ID, the iOS 26 feature that lets U.S. passport holders add their passports to the Wallet app, is coming later in 2025, Apple confirmed today.
Apple updated the release timing wording of Digital ID on its iOS 26 features page. "Digital ID will be coming later this year with US passports only," it reads.
Prior to today, the footnote for the feature said "Digital ID will be available ...
