Apple Watch Series 9 sales to be halted due to patent dispute, The alteration will take effect this Thursday, December 21.
Sales of Apple’s Series 9 smartwatch will cease, Swagenews has learned. The news was released by 9to5Mac and comes after an October International Trade Commission (ITC) verdict over a patent dispute involving the California-based medical technology company Masimo. The blood sensor monitor on the most recent flagship smartwatch is the source of contention.
The alteration will take effect this Thursday, December 21, at 3 p.m. on the Apple Store’s website. Retail locations will stop selling on December 24, one day before the holiday. Additionally, online orders cannot be picked up or delivered after the 24th.
In a statement sent to TechCrunch this morning, Apple confirmed the change:
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 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 plans to appeal the decision because it thinks the ITC made a mistake. In October of last year, the business also filed two lawsuits against Masimo, claiming that Masimo had violated its patents. “Masimo has wrongly attempted to use the ITC to keep a potentially lifesaving product from millions of U.S. consumers while making way for their own watch that copies Apple.” the business stated at the time.
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Masimo’s grievance, which dates back to June 2021, was first centered on the technologies that debuted with the Series 6. Apple “began hiring Masimo employees, starting with Masimo’s Chief Medical Officer,” according to the medical startup. Apple unveiled the Series 6, which is made in Asia, in the fall of 2020.
The main point of contention is with pulse oximetry, which measures blood flow using an optical sensor. Masimo was given FDA approval last month to utilize its wrist-worn product for over-the-counter and prescription purposes.
