It looks like Apple will be able to get around the ban on importing Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 devices and sell those products in the US again after removing a key feature. According a letter According to an appeals court judge for Masimo, a company that has been involved in a patent dispute against Apple, the latter can circumvent the ban by removing the Blood Oxygen app from the Apple Watch units it sells in the US in the future.
According to the letter, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) determined that "Apple's redesign is out of reach" of the import ban on the two devices imposed by the International Trade Commission (ITC). Apple told CBP that its "“The redesigned watch products definitely do not contain pulse oximetry functionality.” Other details related to CBP's decision are confidential and, as things stand, "There is no public version of the decision," Masimo's letter says.
According technology/redesigned-apple-watches-not-subject-import-ban-us-customs-says-2024-01-15/”>ReutersHowever, CBP's decision can be overturned if the ITC disagrees. Apple is said to have already shipped modified Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 units to its US locations, but stores were reportedly told not to open or sell the new versions until they got the green light from higher-ups.
In October, the ITC upheld an earlier ruling that Apple violated Masimo's patents relating to blood oxygen features in the Apple Watch. The ruling led Apple to suspend sales of the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the US through its own website and Apple Stores before Christmas Eve. An emergency interim stay of the ITC ruling in late December allowed Apple to begin selling the wearables again in the United States.
According mac 9to5, Apple's grant will not affect those who already have an Apple Watch with pulse oximetry features. Apple has offered the Blood Oxygen app on its wearable devices since it launched the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020. Apple may release a new version of the Blood Oxygen app on affected units once it resolves the patent issue.
Shortly after Apple said it would stop selling the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 to comply with the ITC order, the company's engineers were reportedly working feverishly on a software update. Those efforts were said to focus on changes to the Blood Oxygen app and its algorithms to ensure the devices violated Masimo's patents.
That said, according to Bloomberg, rejecting the app entirely was considered the quickest (and probably easiest) way to avoid having the ban reinstated, although removing what was once a highly touted feature of the Apple Watch is a major concession. A federal appeals court could hear a motion by Apple to extend the stay (which was granted pending appeal) on the ban as soon as this week.
Masimo claimed that Apple hired its former employees and used its pulse oximetry technology in Apple Watch devices. Apple countersued Masimo, arguing that the company's own smartwatch copies the patented features of the Apple Watch.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-will-remove-blood-oxygen-app-from-watch-series-9-and-ultra-2-to-evade-us-import -ban-194517839.html?src=rss
