The New Apple Watch Will Soon Be Removed From the Market
When a company like Apple releases a product like the Apple Watch, you expect them to sell it for a while. But unfortunately for Apple, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 won’t be on shelves for long.
This all stems from a long-running patent infringement lawsuit between Apple and Masimo, a medical technology company. In 2020, Masimo sued Apple over 10 patents that he believes the company infringed. Then, back in January , a US judge agreed that Apple had infringed one of those patents, specifically a patent for a pulse oximeter for recording blood oxygen levels. Apple has included a blood oxygen sensor in all Apple Watches since the Series 6 (except for the SE), so it was unclear how broad an impact the ruling might have on Apple.
However, following an order from the US International Trade Commission (ITC), the situation is now clear: Apple will stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 on its website starting Thursday, December 21, and will no longer sell the watches from retail outlets. stores after December 24th. You can see Apple’s full statement to 9to5Mac below:
The President’s review period is currently underway regarding the U.S. International Trade Commission’s order in a technical intellectual property dispute involving Apple Watch devices containing the Blood Oxygen feature. Although the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is proactively taking steps to comply if the ruling remains in place. This includes the suspension of sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 on Apple.com beginning December 21 and at Apple retail locations after December 24.
Apple teams work tirelessly to create products and services that provide users with industry-leading health, wellness and security features. Apple strongly disagrees with this order and is considering a number of legal and technical measures to ensure the availability of Apple Watch to customers.
If the order remains in effect, Apple will continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to US customers as quickly as possible.
The Biden administration has until December 25 to veto the decision if it chooses, but as it stands, the last two Apple Watches are leaving Apple stores.
If you want to buy one of these Apple Watches from Apple, you need to do so immediately. However, third-party stores will be able to continue to sell their stock of the watch, so it will likely be available for some time after Apple’s deadline. However, the ruling blocks further imports of the wearable devices, and since they are manufactured outside the US, Apple will not be able to replenish its stock of watches. Once third-party stores sell out, they disappear until this legal situation is resolved.
Potential hope for Apple (and potential Apple Watch customers)
It’s possible that Apple will be able to prevent this entire situation and return to business as usual: As reported by Bloomberg , Apple is feverishly working on a software patch for the Apple Watch that will adjust the way it measures blood oxygen levels and how watchOS presents this information to the end user. user. However, two things are unclear here: will Apple be able to deliver this software update to customers by this deadline? Additionally, will this patch be enough to convince ITC or the Biden administration that the company is doing enough to address Masimo’s infringement claims?
Either way, it’s a fascinating development. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens to the Series 9 and Ultra 2.