As of this week, it is impossible to buy the Apple Watch Ultra 2 or the Apple Watch Series 9 in the United States, at least not directly from Apple.
Both watches will disappear from Apple’s website starting Thursday and from Apple stores after December 24. The sales halt follows an October ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen sensor.
In summary, Apple is accused of infringing a patent of the medical technology company Masimo. The two companies met about a decade ago to discuss a possible collaboration, but Masimo now says the meeting was only to find out what features – and staff – Apple wanted. take him.
Masimo sued Apple in 2020
Before the launch of the Apple Watch, Apple actually hired several employees from Masimo. Later, the company would introduce the blood oxygen sensor that is now at the center of controversy, a technology that Masimo was working on.
Masimo eventually filed a lawsuit against Apple in 2020, asking to prevent the sale of all Apple Watch devices equipped with the offending technology. A judge ruled that Apple was in violation, that decision was forwarded to the ITC, and it is in the hands of US President Joe Biden for a 60-day review. President Biden could veto the decision, but given that the review period ends on Christmas Day and that has not happened yet, Apple is preparing to comply with the ban.
Apple denies any wrongdoing and said it “strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing legal action to ensure Apple Watch is available to customers.”
Unable to deliver to resellers
There are two important points to note in this matter.
- First, the ban only applies to Apple’s sale of the devices, meaning the products will still be available from other sellers, like Amazon.
- Second, the ban only applies to devices that monitor blood oxygen levels, meaning models like the Apple Watch SE are still available.
It’s also important to note that the ban also prevents Apple from shipping its Watches, meaning Apple can’t ship new devices to resellers currently selling them. Therefore, if the decision is upheld (which appears to be the case), there will likely be a shortage of watches in stores.
Source: “ZDNet.com”