On the eve of the new product launch, the blood oxygen feature of the Apple Watch returns!
On Thursday, Apple announced the restoration of the blood oxygen monitoring feature for the Apple Watch. This feature had previously been removed due to a patent dispute with health technology company Masimo. The restoration applies to new models such as the Ultra 2 and Series 10 purchased within the United States that do not include the blood oxygen feature, while older models remain unaffected. Blood oxygen data will now be processed by the paired iPhone and displayed in the "Health" app. Following this news, Masimo's stock price fell over 5% during trading
Apple Inc. will restore the blood oxygen detection feature on the Apple Watch.
On Thursday, August 14, Apple Inc. announced that after years of legal disputes, it is restoring the blood oxygen tracking feature on its smartwatch in the United States.
Previously, Apple had a long-standing patent dispute with health technology company Masimo. In 2023, Masimo accused Apple's blood oxygen detection technology on the Apple Watch of infringing its patents, and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Apple was in violation. The U.S. Customs issued an import ban on related Apple Watch models. This led Apple to suspend some Apple Watch sales in the U.S. by the end of 2023, and when sales resumed on January 18, 2024, models such as the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 were forced to remove the blood oxygen monitoring feature.
However, these features are now set to be restored. According to a recent ruling by U.S. Customs, Apple will reintroduce the feature for users in the U.S. who purchased the aforementioned models and currently do not have the blood oxygen function through the iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 system updates. Apple stated in a press release that "after the update, the sensor data from the blood oxygen app on the Apple Watch will be sent to the paired iPhone for calculation, and the results can be viewed in the 'Breathing' section of the iPhone's 'Health' app."
This update will not affect previously purchased Apple Watch devices that already included the original blood oxygen feature. The primary models regaining this feature are the new models such as the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Series 10, which were first released in the U.S. but did not include the blood oxygen function.
Additionally, this development comes at a critical time for Apple. The company is expected to launch a new Apple Watch next month, along with the iPhone 17 series. "With the restoration of the blood oxygen detection feature, Apple can once again promote it as a health selling point." Meanwhile, Masimo's stock price fell by as much as 5.2% due to this news, as the company has spent millions of dollars on this lawsuit, hoping to ultimately reach a settlement or patent licensing agreement with Apple.
On Thursday morning, Apple’s stock price fell over 0.8% during trading.
