Apple is removing the blood oxygen monitoring feature to circumvent the import ban on the new watches

Recently, Apple was in trouble regarding its latest smartwatch series in the US market. The company has devised a solution to tackle this problem. In an effort to combat the import ban, the company intends to remove the blood oxygen monitoring feature from the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. Reportedly, the company will remove the feature if the appeal of the import ban is rejected. The information comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

The medical device manufacturer Masimo claimed that some Apple Watch models infringed upon its patents pertaining to blood oxygen monitoring technologies, prompting the imposition of the ban. On Monday, Masimo filed a statement that has not been shared publicly. The statement suggests that US Customs and Border Protection found out that the redesigned Apple watches don’t justify the possibility of an import ban.

Apple notified Customs and Border Protection that the updated watches “definitely do not contain pulse oximetry functionality,” according to the filing. This marks a major turning point in the two firms’ protracted legal dispute. Apple has reaffirmed that the blood oxygen monitoring feature is still accessible for the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in response to Masimo’s allegations.

The company will possibly make the changes once the appeal gets approved. Apple might be successful in taking a stay on the order from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Possibly, a complete appeal will require a whole year. Last year, on December 26, it was banned from selling the above-mentioned smartwatch models. However, the company was granted permission to sell the product the following day by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

On the other hand, the legal proceedings are in progress. Given the continuing legal fight, Apple may have taken a calculated risk by removing the blood oxygen monitoring capability in order to preserve the availability of its most recent smartwatches in the US market.