Apple announced on Thursday it’s introducing a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for some Watch Series 8, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra. With this move, Apple is bringing back blood oxygen monitoring by tweaking the feature to get around the International Trade Commission’s (ITC) import ban.
Blood oxygen data will be measured and calculated on the user’s paired iPhone, and results can be viewed in the Respiratory section of the Health app. This means users won’t be able to view the data on their Apple Watch, as they’ll need to do so on their iPhone.
Apple says the update announced today is enabled by a recent U.S. Customs ruling, which means that the tech giant is allowed to import Apple Watches with the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature.
The change doesn’t affect previously sold models with the original version of the feature or units bought outside the U.S.
The redesigned feature only applies to Apple Watches that were sold after the ITC import ban took effect in early 2024. These users can access the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature through an iPhone and Apple Watch software update coming on Thursday.
The move comes as Apple has been in an ongoing legal dispute with medical device maker Masimo, which has accused the tech giant of stealing its pulse oximetry technology after initial talks about a potential collaboration.
In 2023, Masimo secured a victory against Apple at the ITC to block imports of Apple Watches with blood oxygen monitoring, after the commission found that Apple’s technology infringed upon Masimo’s patents. Apple then had to remove the feature.
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Apple counter-sued Masimo, claiming that the company copied Apple Watch features to use in its own smartwatches. The tech giant has also filed an appeal of the ITC ban.
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