Apple will stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 on its official website starting from the 21st of this month and three days later in physical stores. This decision comes after allegations of patent infringement regarding the blood oxygen sensing function by Masimo, a biotechnology company. It is worth noting that the SE model, which has already been sold and does not include the aforementioned function, will not be affected.
The decision was made following a ruling by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), which found Apple guilty of patent infringement and intellectual property rights violations. Masimo stated that even large companies must comply with the law.
The case is currently under review by the Biden administration, with a deadline set for December 25th. If President Biden does not intervene before the deadline, the ban will come into effect on December 26th, prohibiting the import and sale of Apple Watch series with blood oxygen measurement functionality in the United States.
In addition to the administrative aspect, Bloomberg reported this week that Apple is also attempting to bypass the ITC ruling by changing the algorithm for blood oxygen measurement through a software update. However, Masimo believes this is not sufficient, as the patent also involves hardware design, which cannot be avoided without significant changes to the design.
What should Apple do next? Experts predict that, considering President Biden’s previous refusal to intervene in the case of Apple Watch infringing on AliveCor’s ECG patent, he is likely to uphold the ITC ban this time as well.
Professionals estimate that if Apple were to remove the related hardware from the Apple Watch, it would take at least three months to produce and ship new models, not including the time for customs approval. Therefore, if Apple were to make changes to the hardware, it could take a considerable amount of time.
However, this ban currently only applies to the United States and has no immediate impact on consumers in other regions. Although the US is Apple’s largest market, the impact on stock prices seems limited at the moment.