Apple Working on Software Fix to Avoid U.S. Apple Watch Import Ban

Apple engineers are "racing" to change the algorithms used for the blood oxygen sensor in the Apple Watch to avoid having to halt device sales, reports Bloomberg. Apple earlier today said that it will stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States starting on December 21 due to an imminent import ban stemming from a patent dispute with medical device company Masimo.


Sources that spoke to Bloomberg said that engineers are adjusting how oxygen saturation is determined and how the data is provided to customers, updates that will presumably remove technology that is allegedly violating Masimo patents. The work is in line with Apple's statement that it is "pursuing a range of legal and technical options" to make sure that Apple Watch sales are able to resume as soon as possible.

Masimo's patents are related to the hardware that powers the Apple Watch blood oxygen sensor, and Masimo believes that a software change will not be enough to address the patent violations. "The hardware needs to change," Masimo told Bloomberg.

An Apple spokesperson told Bloomberg that it is working to submit a workaround, so Apple seems to think a software-based solution will be sufficient. It is unlikely that a software fix will be deployed before sales stop, as Apple will need to test the changes. Hardware updates would take several months at a minimum.

Back in October, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) ordered a ban on some Apple Watch imports into the U.S. after ruling that Apple violated Masimo patents related to non-invasive blood oxygen sensing. U.S. President Joe Biden could review the court's order and veto the ban ahead of when Apple will need to stop selling the Apple Watch, but presidential vetoes of ITC bans are rare.

While the White House has until December 25 to make a decision, Apple has decided to preemptively prepare to comply with the ITC's ruling. Apple will stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and the ‌Apple Watch Ultra 2‌ in U.S. retail stores on December 21 after 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time, and online sales will stop after December 24. The Apple Watch will remain available in other countries, and this does not impact the Apple Watch SE because it does not have a blood oxygen sensor.

Apple plans to appeal the ITC's order with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on December 26 if a veto does not come through. Apple's statement from earlier today:

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.

The Apple Watch Series 9 and the ‌Apple Watch Ultra 2‌ are the only Apple Watch models that Apple sells with blood oxygen sensing technology at the current time (with the exception of refurbished models), though older Apple Watches also use the same technology. Customers will still be able to get their devices repaired and replaced if the ban goes through. Third-party retailers will be able to continue sales until supplies dry up, so those looking for an Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2 ahead of the holidays can get one from stores like Best Buy and Target.

If Apple is not able to remove the infringing technology or appeal the ITC's decision, settling with Masimo is a possibility, but there are so far no signs that Apple and Masimo are engaged in settlement talks.

Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Rumored to Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Saturday March 1, 2025 11:00 am PST by
iOS 19 is still around three months away from being unveiled, but there are plenty of rumors about the upcoming update. Below, we recap iOS 19 rumors so far. Redesigned Camera App A leak earlier this year allegedly revealed a redesigned Camera app coming with iOS 19. On his YouTube channel Front Page Tech in January, Jon Prosser shared a video showing what the new Camera app will...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Latest iPhone 17 Series CAD Images in Line With Redesign Rumors

Friday February 28, 2025 2:51 am PST by
Apple is expected to embrace a new camera system design for some models in its upcoming iPhone 17 series, and the latest purported CAD images don't deviate from what we have been hearing lately about Apple's new lineup. If you do not like the sound of an iPhone with a Google Pixel-style camera bar, look away now. Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson shared the following images in a post on X...
apple intelligence black

These New Apple Intelligence Features Are Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday February 28, 2025 3:17 pm PST by
iOS 18.4 was supposed to bring new Apple Intelligence Siri features, but Apple ended up needing to pull those capabilities from the update to continue testing. There are fewer new Apple Intelligence additions now, but there are still some new features that will make the update worth installing when it comes out in April. Priority Notifications Apple introduced Priority Notifications back at ...
iphone 16e usb c feature

Apple Provides Reason for iPhone 16e's Lack of MagSafe

Friday February 28, 2025 4:39 am PST by
Apple has offered a reason why the iPhone 16e doesn't include MagSafe, one of the more notable omissions from its latest entry-level smartphone. According to Apple representatives who spoke to Daring Fireball's John Gruber, MagSafe is not included in the iPhone 16e because "most people in the iPhone 16e's target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging...
Apple AirPort Routers

Apple's Discontinued Line of AirPort Wi-Fi Routers Could Return in an Unexpected Way

Saturday March 1, 2025 10:00 am PST by
Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Apple offered a line of Wi-Fi routers that it referred to as AirPort base stations. There was a standard AirPort Express, a higher-end AirPort Extreme with more advanced networking features, and an AirPort Time Capsule that doubled as an external storage drive for backing up a Mac with Time Machine. Apple discontinued the AirPort line in 2018, but the company...
apple c1

How Fast is Apple's First-Ever 5G Modem? The Results Are Surprising

Friday February 28, 2025 10:08 am PST by
iPhone 16e reviews are now out, and Apple's custom-designed C1 modem has been put to the test. The results so far are quite surprising, as the C1's speeds are not as slow compared to Qualcomm modems as originally expected. While the C1 does not support ultra-fast mmWave 5G in the U.S., it appears to offer comparable 5G performance to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X71 modem found in the iPhone 16,...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
Apple MacBook Air 2 up hero 240304 feature

New MacBook Air Announcement Reportedly 'Imminent' — Here's When

Sunday March 2, 2025 5:40 am PST by
With the iPhone 16e now in the hands of customers, Apple reportedly plans to move on to its next product announcement in the coming days. Apple plans to announce new MacBook Air models with the M4 chip "as early as this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "I expect the M4 MacBook Air to be introduced as early as this week," said Gurman, in a post shared on X today. "Inventory has ...

Top Rated Comments

canadianreader Avatar
16 months ago
Why don't they just pay for the patent ?
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rjp1 Avatar
16 months ago
Pay up - you have the money.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thmsnt Avatar
16 months ago
Apple better not nerf my Ultra or it will be the last Apple Watch (and maybe product) I ever buy.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Mad Kiwi Avatar
16 months ago

Why don't they just pay for the patent ?
Because they want over $100 per watch. That's why Apple has been fighting; there's a ton of bad blood between Apple and Masimo because Apple poached a whole bunch of their staff.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Radeon85 Avatar
16 months ago
Just pay up Apple you have enough money. Better not nerf the accuracy or features outside of the US or I can see more lawsuits in the future.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LightProtector Avatar
16 months ago
Hoping for two things:

1. They don’t significantly nerf the functionality.
2. The engineers finish it in time to celebrate the holidays with their families.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)