Last week was a pretty interesting week in the world of tech. Typically, the week before Christmas is pretty non-eventful, but it was anything but for Apple. The company announced that it would stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 online on December 21, with in-store sales ending on December 24. This was part of the long ongoing lawsuit with Masimo, where the ITC added a sales ban for Apple Watch models with the blood oxygen feature.
This was actually announced back in October, and the US President had 60 days to make a decision whether he would veto the ITC decision or not. And that decision has been made. The Biden Administration has decided not to overturn the US International Trade Commission ruling banning the imports of Apple Watches with the contested blood-oxygen level reading technology.
The ITC also released a statement, “After careful consultations, Ambassador Katherine Tai decided not to reverse the ITC’s determination, and the ITC’s decision became final on December 26, 2023.”
Apple Watch SE can still be sold, however
Since Apple decided to keep the blood oxygen sensor off of the Apple Watch SE, that watch can still be sold in the US. So Apple stores are down to just a single Apple Watch model that they can sell, for now. And it’s the cheapest model. Though, I’d argue that it’s all most people need anyway. The Apple Watch SE is currently discounted to $199 at other retailers too.
The silver lining for Apple is that they can’t sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, but their partners still can. The ITC sales ban only affects Apple’s sales, not sales through third parties like Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart. So, for now, you can still pick up a new Apple Watch through those channels, but that won’t last long.
As part of this sales ban, Apple is unable to import these models of the Apple Watch. Basically, this means that whatever stock is available at Best Buy, Walmart, and Amazon is all they will have. Once those are sold, those models will no longer be available.
Apple is working overtime to get a software update out to fix this issue so that the Apple Watch can resume sales. However, Masimo has said that wouldn’t work. The issue here is hardware and not software. Apple could also pay to settle with Masimo by licensing the technology. And obviously, the longer Apple waits, the more leverage Masimo has here. Keep in mind, Masimo is not a “patent troll”, they have offered licensing contracts for this technology to Apple, which has been turned down many times.
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