Apple to Disable Blood-Oxygen Feature in U.S. Apple Watches Amid Patent Dispute (2024)

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Apple to Disable Blood-Oxygen Feature in U.S. Apple Watches Amid Patent Dispute? ›

Rather than remove the blood oximetry hardware entirely, Apple implemented design changes to disable the functionality in new imported watches through combined software and hardware modifications during manufacturing.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the blood oxygen sensors in both devices infringed on patents from Masimo. Apple's Watch workaround to avoid an import ban has reportedly been approved. Word of this comes not from US Customs, but Masimo's own lawyers in a letter published by 9to5Mac.

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Apple will disable the blood-oxygen monitoring feature on its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models in the U.S. due to a court-ordered revival of a sales ban resulting from a patent dispute with medical technology company Masimo.

The ability to measure blood oxygen is no longer available on Apple Watch units sold by Apple in the United States beginning January 18, 2024. These are indicated with part numbers ending in LW/A. Learn how to identify your Apple Watch.

You'll remember, but just in case, Apple was accused of patent infringement by health device maker Masimo for the way pulse oximetry (measurement of blood oxygen) worked on the Apple Watch. The monitoring feature was then removed from all Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 devices sold in the U.S. by Apple.

The sensor previously monitored the levels of oxygen in the blood. The reason Apple disabled the blood oxygen sensor is a legal one. Apple has been in an ongoing patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo, which alleges that Apple has infringed on its blood oxygen technology patents.

Apple to remove pulse oximeter from Apple Watches to avoid ban on sales in US. Apple has agreed to remove a blood oxygen measurement tool from two of its Apple Watch models so it can avoid a sales ban on the devices in the U.S., Bloomberg reported.

Apple pulled the watches from store shelves after the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the watches' blood oxygen sensors violated Masimo's patents. The devices were banned on December 26.

"The blood oxygen feature is fairly accurate, from the research I've seen, but it's not medical grade, so I would say overall, no, it's not very useful," Graham Bower, developer of iOS health app Reps and Sets and Apple Watch expert, told Lifewire via email.

Blood oxygen measurements use a bright red light that shines against your wrist, which may be more visible in dark places. You can turn off measurements if you find the light distracting. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch. Tap Blood Oxygen, then turn off In Sleep Focus and In Theater Mode.

How accurate is US blood oxygen on Apple Watch? ›

The authors report 95% limits of agreement of -5.8% and +5.9%. In patients and conditions where the conventional pulse oximeter measured >90% spO₂, the Apple Watch measured on average 1% higher than the conventional device.

Apple Watch — Series 6 or later, excluding Apple Watch SE1 — is capable of measuring oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin (SpO2) for fitness and wellness applications. The Apple Watch optical system uses a combination of light emitters and light sensors to take the blood oxygen measurement.

According to the document (via ipfray), the patent Apple infringed is set to expire in August 2028. That said, if the US International Trade Commission doesn't accept Apple's appeal before this date, the Cupertino firm could reinstate the blood oxygen feature.

Apple will disable the blood-oxygen feature on premium watches sold in the US as part of a patent dispute. Apple says it will disable a blood-oxygen monitoring feature on its two most popular watches in the U.S. beginning Thursday to comply with a court-ordered revival of a sales ban stemming from a patent dispute.

Masimo. In 2020, medical technology company Masimo sued Apple for infringing on 10 of its patents, including technology to measure blood oxygen levels and heart rate.

AliveCor, a medical device and AI company, filed the lawsuit in 2021. It claimed that Apple had abused its market power by injuring competition and engaging in “predatory” and “exclusionary” conduct related to the Apple Watch's electrocardiogram (ECG) technology.

The Pearson correlation coefficient between the two conventional oximeter measurements was 0.993. The authors concluded that the Apple Watch Series 6 was a reliable way to obtain spO₂ measurements in patients with lung diseases under controlled conditions.

Trade Secrets Case

Masimo initially asserted the patents in question in 2020 when it sued Apple in a California federal court. The company has argued both that Apple developed a blood-oxygen sensor for its Apple Watch using Masimo trade secrets and that the watches infringe more than a dozen Masimo patents.

Three years have passed, and Apple still hasn't got FDA – or any health agency in the world – approval for this technology. That said, unlike the reliable ECG function, which works as an FDA-approved feature, the blood oxygen monitor doesn't.

Over the past decade, some of Apple's biggest regulatory headaches have come from a little-known federal agency called the U.S. International Trade Commission. The agency's patent judges have found Apple guilty of appropriating innovations in smartphones, semiconductors and smartwatches.