If the Apple receives an unfavorable decision in an expected appeals court decision later today, the company will disable the pulse oximeter on newly sold Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 units to circumvent the International Trade Commission (ITC) Exclusion Order. The original order forced Apple to remove the affected watches from online and physical Apple Stores in the US. Apple is currently able to sell the watches thanks to a temporary suspension of the Exclusion Order by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Apple is awaiting a hearing from the appeals court, which is expected to decide whether Apple can continue to sell the affected models until the appeals process is exhausted. This decision may be made later today. What we learned this morning is that the redesign submitted by Apple to US Customs consisted only of Apple disabling the pulse oximeter, leading Masimo to issue this statement earlier today (via
9to5Mac):
“On Friday, January 12, the US Customs and Border Protection’s Enforcement of Exclusion Order (EOE) determined that Apple’s redesign is outside the scope of the remedial orders in the ITC investigation underlying Apple’s appeal.”
The pulse oximeter on the Apple Watch
In the Apple’s request under 19 CFR Part 177 (in a part that was not identified as confidential), Apple explained ‘that its redesigned watch products definitively do not contain pulse oximetry functionality…’ Because Apple maintained that certain information in the EOE process is confidential, Masimo does not provide a copy of the decision with this letter. Currently, there is no public version of the decision.”
Apple can continue to sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 until the appeals court makes its decision, which as mentioned earlier, could occur today. If the court decides that the exclusion order remains suspended until Apple completes the appeals process, you will not see any change in the way things are at the moment and the affected watches will still be available in the US.
If the appeals court decides that the exclusion order remains in effect while Apple continues to appeal the original decision, the tech giant will have to sell new units without the pulse oximeter feature or license Masimo’s patent. It should be noted that those who already own the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Ultra Watch 2 units will still be able to use the pulse oximeter on their watches. If Apple disables the feature, it will only affect newly acquired units.