Apple Watch ban: everything you need to know – The Verge

Now Masimo is suing US Customs over Apple Watch imports

2025-08-21T09:40:17-04:00

Masimo isn’t happy about the CBP reversing its previous Apple Watch import ban.

Medical tech company Masimo is suing US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in an attempt to overturn the agency's decision to allow Apple to restore the blood oxygen tracking feature on Apple Watches. Masimo said it only learned that the ban had been reversed after Apple announced a "redesigned" pulse oximetry feature last week, which calculates blood oxygen levels on iPhones instead of the Watch.

Apple has been embroiled in legal disputes over Masimo's blood oxygen sensor patent since 2020, disabling the feature on supported US Apple Watch models following an ITC import ban in December 2023. In a complaint filed on Wednesday, Masimo said …

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Apple returns blood oxygen monitoring to the latest Apple Watches

2025-08-14T09:03:48-04:00

The update will be available today for Series 9, 10 and Ultra 2 owners in the U.S.

Blood oxygen monitoring is returning to the Apple Watch - sort of. Starting today, Apple is rolling out a software update that enables a redesigned version of the feature for the Apple Watch Series 9, 10, and Ultra 2 that circumvents the import ban imposed by the International Trade Commission.

To get around the ban, blood oxygen data collected on the Watch will now be measured and calculated on the iPhone that it's paired to. While users won't be able to view the data on their wrist, they'll be able to view it in the iPhone's Health app under the Respiratory section. Apple's announcement states that US customs has ruled that the company wi …

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Apple wins a battle (and $250) in its smartwatch patent fight with Masimo

2024-10-25T20:05:13-04:00

Apple got a mixed victory in a patent infringement lawsuit against medical device maker Masimo. On Friday, a federal jury determined that Masimo had infringed on some Apple patents, and as part of the verdict, Apple was awarded $250 - yes, just $250 - as a statutory remedy for Masimo's infringement.

$250 is the statutory minimum damages for the alleged infringement and Apple had sought that figure, Bloomberg Law reports. "We're not here for the money," Apple attorney John Desmarais said to jurors in closing arguments, according to the publication.

Masimo's W1 smartwatch, Freedom smartwatch, and health module infringed on one patent, while …

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Here’s Apple’s 916-page appeal over the Apple Watch ban

2024-04-05T19:05:59-04:00

Apple’s not too happy that Masimo’s W1 watch didn’t exist when Masimo filed its complaint. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

There was no question that Apple would appeal when the International Trade Commission banned Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 sales last year. Well, if you've got some time, you can now read all 916 pages of Apple's appeal to the Federal Circuit.

A quick recap: the Apple Watch ban centers around whether Apple infringed upon medical device-maker Masimo's pulse oximetry patents. The ITC sided with Masimo, concluding that Apple had infringed their patents, and that the infringement was harming domestic industry.

The ITC is an agency similar to a court that often deals with imported "articles" that may or may not violate intellectual property …

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Apple Watches without banned blood oxygen features are now on sale

2024-01-17T20:46:26-05:00

Following a lost bid to halt a ban on selling its newest Apple Watches, Apple started selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 online and in Apple Stores without blood oxygen measuring features on January 18th. A footnote on Apple's site tells you how to identify the newer watches:

The ability to measure Blood Oxygen is no longer available on Apple Watch units sold by Apple in the United States on or after January 18, 2024. These are indicated with part numbers ending in LW/A.

Apple spokesperson Nikki Rothberg sent over a statement (included below) as well as information from Apple on how these devices will work. On these w …

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Apple Watches with blood oxygen tech are banned again

2024-01-17T15:27:45-05:00

Update January 17th, 8:52PM ET: Apple has confirmed that versions of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 without blood oxygen features will go on sale starting January 18th at 9AM ET. Our original story continues below.

In the latest twist in Apple's ongoing patent battle with Masimo, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has denied extending an interim stay on the Apple Watch ban. That means Apple will once again have to stop selling its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 devices that have the technology enabled starting at 5PM ET on January 18th.

This is an obvious setback for Apple, which has been scrambling to find a way to ci …

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Apple Watch drops blood oxygen features to dodge the import ban

2024-01-15T15:14:05-05:00

The blood oxygen feature is about to disappear from new Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 devices. While Apple itself has not released a statement or responded to our request for comment, both Bloomberg and 9to5Mac are reporting that the feature will be going away and that US Customs and Border Protection has approved the measure, which would allow Apple to consider selling both products after their sale was banned last year.

The Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 were both banned in the US late last year as the result of a patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo. The International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the bloo …

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Why Masimo thought it could take on Apple

2023-12-28T13:42:12-05:00

For over three years now, Apple has been entrenched in a messy legal battle over a single feature on the Apple Watch - and Apple's opponent, medical device maker Masimo, seems confident it can win. And there's a good reason Masimo might believe that: the company came out on top when it sued True Wearables, a startup run by a former executive with a stint on the Apple Watch team, on similar grounds.

In 2018, Masimo filed a complaint against True Wearables over claims its wireless pulse oximeter infringed on Masimo's patent. The court sided with Masimo and issued a permanent injunction against the sale of the device in December 2022.

Sound f …

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Apple is now selling Apple Watches on its website again

2023-12-28T12:05:31-05:00

Apple has resumed selling the latest Apple Watches on its website after a federal appeals court paused a sales and import ban.

The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are now once again available on Apple's website, a day after some physical Apple stores began selling the watches on December 27th. Apple previously told The Verge that the watches should be available widely in its physical stores by Saturday.

The US International Trade Commission issued the ban after finding that Apple had violated patents from medical device maker Masimo around a blood oxygen saturation feature included in the Series 9 and Ultra 2. Apple pulled both models fro …

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Apple resumes Apple Watch sales after ban is paused

2023-12-27T17:21:20-05:00

You can once again buy the latest Apple Watches straight from Apple. The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 will be available again in some physical Apple stores starting today, with wider availability expected by Saturday. Online sales will resume tomorrow by 3PM ET, Apple spokesperson Nikki Rothberg told The Verge.

The restarting of sales comes hours after a federal appeals court paused a sales and import ban that covered both devices. Apple was banned from selling both products in the US after the US International Trade Commission found that the company had violated patents from the medical device maker Masimo.

The appeals court said tha …

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