WASHINGTON - Apple said on Jan 17 it would remove a blood oxygen monitoring feature from two flagship Apple Watch models in the United States as the iPhone maker fights a legal battle over patents on the technology behind the feature.
The legal fight could take a year to resolve, and analysts had expected Apple would strike the feature, which is marketed for fitness uses, rather than pull devices from sale in one of its biggest markets.
The company said Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models without the feature would go on sale on its website and stores in the US on Jan 18.
Existing Apple Watches are not affected by the orders, nor are devices sold outside the US.
Apple shares closed 0.5 per cent lower at US$182.68 on after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on Jan 17 that the company could no longer sell the models at the centre of a the legal battle with medical technology company Masimo.
In December, Masimo secured a decision from the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to halt imports of the devices. Apple Watches comprise about a quarter of the global smartwatch market, according to Counterpoint Research.
In a statement on Jan 17, Mr Joe Kiani, Masimo’s founder and chief executive, said the latest court ruling “affirms that even the largest and most powerful companies must respect the intellectual rights of American inventors and must deal with the consequences when they are caught infringing others’ patents.”
Apple said it “strongly disagreed” with the ITC decision and resulting orders, and they should be reversed.
Apple does not break out Apple Watch or US sales figures specifically, but about 42 per cent of its overall revenue came from North America last year.
While Apple Watch sales are far smaller than those of Apple’s flagship iPhone, the device anchors the company’s wearables sales segment, which accounted for US$39.84 billion (S$53.6 billion) of Apple’s overall US$383.29 billion in sales for fiscal 2023.
The ITC’s import ban on Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches briefly went into effect on Dec 26. The Federal Circuit lifted the ban on Dec 27 while it considered Apple’s request for a long-term pause, and Apple resumed sales of the smartwatches later that day.
Masimo has accused Apple of hiring away its employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology to use in Apple Watches. The ITC barred imports and direct Apple sales of Apple Watches that read blood-oxygen levels following a Masimo complaint.
Apple has included a pulse oximeter feature in smartwatches since its Series 6 Apple Watch in 2020. It has countersued Masimo for patent infringement, calling Masimo’s legal actions a “manoeuvre to clear a path” for its own competing watch. REUTERS
