The United States bans Apple Watches from measuring blood oxygen: why?

The US International Trade Commission has ruled that Apple’s next-generation smartwatches (Series 9 and Ultra 2 families) infringe on Masimo patents related to the measurement of oxygen in the blood, known as pulse oximetry. Reference image.

Photo: Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomber – Jeenah Moon

Apple will remove the blood oxygen monitoring feature from its latest smart watches. The reason has to do with a ban by the American government.

It all starts with a patent dispute between the iPhone maker and Masimo, a pharmaceutical technology company, involving US Customs and Border Protection. In October, the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Apple’s next-generation smartwatches (Series 9 and Ultra 2 families) infringe Masimo patents related to the measurement of oxygen in the blood, so-called pulse oximetry.

This led Apple to suspend sales of smartwatches just before Christmas, although a temporary suspension allowed the company to return to selling these products late last month.

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This Monday, January 15, Masimo reported that the decision by the US Customs and Border Protection does not mean that Apple smartwatches will stop being imported into that country, but that the manufacturer will only have to eliminate the pulse oximeter function to keep its watches on the market. market.

The iPhone maker developed a workaround software solution to get around the controversy and last week submitted the adjustment to the customs agency tasked with enforcing import bans. Apple explained that the redesigned watches “definitely” do not contain the technology in question.

In the tech industry, the withdrawal of pulse oximetry technology from the Apple Watch has been described as a “drastic” decision.

However, all is not lost for Apple. The company’s engineers are working on a software update that will modify the blood oxygen app and its algorithms to avoid the patent issue. To date, removing this feature is probably the fastest way to avoid sanctions from US Customs and Border Protection, which could include a ban on the import of these gadgets.

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“Apple may have paid a high price to get around the U.S. import ban,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tamlin Bason.

The blood oxygen measurement function has been heavily promoted, so its removal may affect customer demand.

Apple’s operations team has already started shipping the modified Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches to retail outlets in the United States. Stores have been told not to open or sell the modified devices until they receive approval from Apple’s corporate offices. It is possible that these models are the new versions without the blood oxygen function.

Separately, a federal appeals court is expected to hear a motion by Apple to overturn the ban this week. It should be noted that this measure has been lifted on an emergency basis while Apple awaits a hearing.

Last week, the ITC urged an appeals court to reject “weak and unconvincing” arguments in support of an attempt to block the trade agency’s enforcement of the ban.

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2024-01-16 02:52:00
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