Apple disables blood-oxygen feature on top model watches amid patent dispute

It’s official, Apple disabled a blood-oxygen feature on its two newest watches in the U.S. Thursday, Jan. 18, to comply with a court-ordered revival of a sales ban stemming from a patent dispute. The decision to turn off the blood-oxygen feature for Apple users who buy the Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2 in the U.S. came after a federal appeals court on Wednesday, Jan 17., refused to extend an order that had allowed the watches to remain in Apple’s retail stores during a battle over the rights to some of the technology.

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A temporary stay was issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals three weeks ago and had allowed the two watch models to return to stores in the U.S. after the company pulled them from shelves and websites just before Christmas as part of an ongoing battle with Masimo, a medical technology company.

The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in late October that a blood-oxygen sensor in the watches violated Masimo’s patents, a ruling in which Apple is appealing. But the process could take up to a year to reach a decision.

Apple appears confident they will come out on top of the ruling. The company announced the Apple Watches will still come with a Blood Oxygen icon, but when it’s pressed, users will be getting a notification informing them the technology is unavailable.

Customers who have already purchased the Series 9 and Ultra 2 models in the U.S. will still be able to use the blood-oxygen sensor as they have been. The sensor will reportedly continue to work on those watches purchased outside the U.S.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.