Apple’s online store is no longer selling the newest models of Apple Watches.
Are you considering purchasing the newest Apple Watch for the holidays? Perhaps it’s already too late.
Apple recently took down the Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches from its web store. The watches are now listed as “currently unavailable”
On Apple’s website, the company has removed its advertisements for the devices from the homepage.
By December 24th, these models will also be removed from the flagship stores’ shelves.
Online sales have been suspended following an International Trade Commission ruling that Apple had infringed upon blood oxygen monitoring patents held by health technology company Masimo. There is a feature on both of the watches that are being taken off the shelves that measures the wearer’s blood oxygen levels
Apple will be unable to import Apple Watches from abroad after the ban takes effect.
If Apple were to stop selling these models, it might lose $300 million to $400 million in sales. According to Bloomberg, the manufacturer of the iPhone claims that it is actively taking action to fix the blood oxygen monitor problem, including updating its software. Apple has also declared its intention to challenge the ITC decision.
told Business Insider that the decision “demonstrates that even the world’s most powerful company must abide by the law.”
According to Bloomberg, Apple will no longer replace watches past their warranty. This includes Apple Watch Series 6 models and later, which have the blood oxygen feature that the commission determined was protected by the patents.
In response to BI’s inquiry, Apple said it was unsure if it would soon restore its most recent watches to the public.
The ITC decision followed Masimo’s 2020 lawsuit against Apple alleging patent infringement about the company’s pulse oximetry technology.
According to Masimo’s founder and CEO Joe Kiani, “this is not an accidental infringement,” Bloomberg was told. “This is a deliberate taking of our intellectual property.”
In addition, Kiani stated that the tech behemoth had taken 25 of the medical company’s engineers, including the chief medical officer and the chief technology officer of a spinoff company.
Kiani declared that he is amenable to agreeing with Apple. Apple’s only remaining options,
if the two companies cannot agree, are to either convince customs officials that a software update solves the problem without requiring any hardware changes to the device or attempt to persuade President Biden to veto the ruling, which is improbable.
Regarding the ban on Apple’s newest Watch models, President Joe Biden won’t be making a comeback this holiday season.
A few days before that date, Apple had announced that it would start removing the watches from retail locations on December 24.
The company had also listed both models as “currently unavailable” on its website. Third-party retailers that carry them in stock, such as Best Buy,
Amazon, and Walmart, are still selling them in the US.
Apple issued a statement saying. “We vehemently disagree with the USITC ruling and the ensuing exclusion order.
And we are taking all necessary steps to get the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch. Ultra 2 back to customers in the US as soon as possible.
According to Bloomberg, it has filed an emergency motion to lift the ban while the appeal.
Is being reviewed in addition to contesting the ITC ruling at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The ITC determined that the blood-oxygen sensing technology used in the Apple Watch models violated Masimo’s patents.
According to Masimo CEO Joe Kiani, “This is not an accidental infringement.
This is a deliberate taking of our intellectual property,”
who spoke with Bloomberg last week.
Apple disputes that its blood oxygen feature uses Masimo’s technology.
According to Apple, Americans who have already purchased the, restricted models of the smart watches. Should still be able to use them.