The company said Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models without the feature would go on sale on its website and stores starting at 2:00 p.m. (GMT time) on Thursday.
Apple said Wednesday it would remove a blood oxygen monitoring feature from two flagship Apple Watch models in the United States, as the iPhone maker fights a legal battle over patents for the technology underlying the feature.
The litigation could take a year to resolve, and analysts had expected Apple to remove the feature, which is marketed for sports uses, rather than withdraw the devices from sale in one of its largest markets.
The company said Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models without the feature would go on sale on its website and stores starting at 2:00 p.m. (GMT time) on Thursday.
Apple shares fell 0.5% on Wednesday, to $182.68, after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on Wednesday that the company could not continue selling the models at the center of a legal battle with the company. Masimo medical technology.
In December, Masimo obtained a decision from the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to stop imports of the devices. Apple Watches account for about a quarter of the global smartwatch market, according to Counterpoint Research.
In a statement, Joe Kiani, founder and CEO of Masimo, said Wednesday’s court ruling “affirms that even the largest and most powerful companies must respect the intellectual rights of American inventors and face consequences when they are caught infringing patents.” other people.”
Apple said it “strongly disagreed” with the ITC’s decision and the resulting orders and that they should be vacated.
The orders do not affect existing Apple Watches or devices sold outside the United States.
Series 9 and Ultra 2 models sold in the United States as of Thursday will continue to have an app icon for blood oxygen functions. But when users tap those icons, they will report that the features are not available.
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Ben Bajarin, CEO of analytics firm Creative Strategies, expected Apple to disable blood oxygen features on its Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watch models in the United States rather than stop selling the wearables.
Apple doesn’t break out sales figures for the Apple Watch or for the United States specifically, but about 42% of its total revenue came from North America last year.
Although sales of the Apple Watch are much smaller than those of Apple’s flagship iPhone, the device anchors the company’s wearables sales segment, which accounted for $39.84 billion of Apple’s total $383.29 billion in sales. for fiscal year 2023.
The ITC ban on the import of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 briefly came into effect on December 26. The Federal Circuit lifted the ban on December 27 while considering Apple’s request for a long-term pause, and Apple resumed sales of the smartwatches later that same day.
Masimo has accused Apple of recruiting its employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology to use in Apple Watches. The ITC banned Apple’s imports and direct sales of Apple Watches that read blood oxygen levels following a complaint from Masimo.
Apple stopped selling its latest Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches in the United States before Christmas until the appeals court’s temporary pause. The devices remained available at other US retailers, including Amazon.com, Best Buy, Costco, and Walmart.
Apple asked the Washington-based Federal Circuit Court to keep the ban on hold for the duration of the appeal process, which is likely to last months. It argued that it was likely to win the appeal and that keeping the ban in place would harm the company, its suppliers and the public.
The commission countered that Apple’s arguments “amount to little more” than a patent infringer “requesting permission to continue infringing.”
Apple has included a pulse oximeter feature in smartwatches since its Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020. It has countersued Masimo for patent infringement, calling Masimo’s legal actions a “move to clear the way” for its own watch.