Apple might not have plans to settle with medical equipment company Masimo.
The company is reportedly working to release an Apple Watch software update to alter the smartwatch’s blood oxygen level algorithm in order to avoid an impending ban in the U.S. related to the patent dispute.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple believes changing how the Apple Watch measures oxygen saturation would allow the tech giant to keep selling its latest smartwatch models throughout the holiday shopping season.
The Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 are at the core of the patent dispute between Apple and Masimo, with the medical equipment company claiming the tech giant’s smartwatch sensor violates patents related to its proprietary blood-oxygen monitoring technology. The ban does not include earlier Apple Watch models, despite the wearable featuring blood oxygen level monitoring since the Series 6.
The case is under a 60-day Presidential Review period ending next week. If President Joe Biden doesn’t veto the International Trade Committee’s (ITC) recent decision in Masimo’s favour, Apple will be forced to stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. Ahead of this decision, Apple has opted to stop selling both smartwatch models on its website on December 21st and at its retail locations on December 24th.
Masimo has stated that it’s open to settling with Apple but emphasized its accusations regarding parent infringement are more related to hardware than software. While a software fix is feasible for Apple, a hardware change would be a far more complex process for the tech giant.
The Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will still be available at third-party retailers in the United States. The ban will not affect Canada.
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