US Sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 to be Paused Over Patent Dispute

If you’re in the US and were looking to purchase one of the latest Apple Watch models during the holidays, you may want to hurry up: Apple will pause sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 on its website on December 21, with Apple retail stores to follow on December 24. This is due to a patent dispute with medical technology company Masimo, which makes a blood oxygen monitoring sensor.

In a statement shared with 9to5Mac, Apple explained that it’s pulling the two Watch models from the US markets as a preemptive measure to comply with a ruling from the International Trade Commission (ITC). This ruling claimed that Apple Watch models with the Blood Oxygen feature infringe on Masimo’s patents related to blood oxygen monitoring.

You can read Apple’s full statement below:

A Presidential Review Period is in progress regarding an order from the U.S. International Trade Commission on a technical intellectual property dispute pertaining to Apple Watch devices containing the Blood Oxygen feature. While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand. This includes pausing sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Apple.com starting December 21, and from Apple retail locations after December 24.

Apple’s teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features. Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers.

Should the order stand, Apple will continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible.

Apple’s patent dispute with Masimo has been going on for years. In addition to the lawsuit filed with the ITC that led to the recent import ban, the medical technology company filed a separate lawsuit against Apple in the US District Court in the Central District of California in early 2020. While it’s not clear if this patent dispute could be resolved anytime soon, all Apple Watch models will remain available for purchase outside of the US.