Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2 models with blood oxygen sensor removed now available

As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple has updated its online store to denote the modification required to avoid another import ban on Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. 

Thanks to ongoing litigation with Masimo, Apple has disabled the blood oxygen sensor functionality on new Apple Watch S9 and U2 models sold in the U.S. from today. The tech giant is barred from selling those models that have such functionality.

This is due to the long legal battle between Masimo, a medical tech firm, and Apple in which the former alleges the latter unlawfully incorporated its pulse oximetry tech into the Apple Watch. Apple removed the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from its online store on December 21. 

However, Bloomberg reports that Apple is plotting a “rescue mission” for the $17 billion business that includes software fixes and other potential workarounds. The article says that engineers at the company are racing to make changes to algorithms on the device that measure a user’s blood oxygen level — a feature that Masimo claims infringes its patents. They’re adjusting how the technology determines oxygen saturation and presents the data to customers, according to Bloomberg.