Apple has temporarily halted the sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models in the United States. This decision was made just before the ban on the import of these devices came into effect. The International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the components related to blood oxygen level monitoring technology in these models infringed on patents owned by medical equipment manufacturer Masimo. As a result, Apple has decided to comply with this decision, and currently, these models cannot be purchased online.
However, customers can still buy Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in Apple’s physical stores until December 24. After that date, sales in the stores will also be suspended. Third-party retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Best Buy will be allowed to continue selling these devices until their stocks are depleted.
Apple has the option to appeal the import ban until December 25, hoping to obtain a veto from the White House. The company is actively working on resolving the legal and technical issue and restoring Apple Watch to the market as soon as possible. They claim that it is possible to improve the software, which potentially could solve the problem, as Apple engineers adjust the algorithms for oxygen saturation marking and data delivery. However, it is uncertain whether a software fix alone would meet the patent requirements since the infringed patents specifically pertain to hardware.
In the meantime, Apple is considering various options to resolve the issue and hopes to resume sales of the affected Apple Watch models in the near future.
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The source of the article is from the blog macnifico.pt