In a statement to website 9to5Mac, Apple said that they have to stop sales of its 2023 flagship smartwatches in the United States from later this week. It all boils down to a patent dispute that involves a tech in the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
A patent dispute between Apple and medical company Masimo that started in with a judge’s ruling in January involves Apple Watch’s blood oxygen sensor technology. In the ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC), Apple infringed Masimo’s patents when it comes to technology for reading blood oxygen levels.
The technology was first included in Apple Watches with the Series 6.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 will no longer be available to order from Apple’s website in the U.S. after 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 21. In-store inventory will no longer be available from Apple retail locations after December 24.
ITC’s ruling was upheld after the case was sent to the President Biden administration for a 60-day Presidential Review Period for a veto, and none was given so far. Because of that, Apple made this announcement to “preemptively” take steps to comply with the ITC’s decision.
The Apple Watch SE will still be on sale as it lacks the blood oxygen sensor technology, and prior model are also not affected by the ruling. The sensor will still continue to function.
Here is Apple’s full statement to 9to5Mac:
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.
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.
Apple is hoping that the US government will veto the ruling as they find the ITC finding unfounded and should be reversed. They also believe that the ruling will harm suppliers, and consumers and potentially have a greater impact on the economy.
As a data point, Apple’s wearable business made $13.48 billion (about RM 63.36 billion) in revenue during the Q1 2023 holiday quarter.
The sale halt of the two smartwatches are only for the US market – the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will still be available in other markets.
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