Apple to disable blood-oxygen feature as part of patent dispute

U.S. phonemaker Apple said it will disable a blood-oxygen monitoring feature on its two most popular smart watches in the U.S. beginning Thursday to comply with a court-ordered revival of a sales ban stemming from a patent dispute.

The decision to turn off the blood-oxygen sensor for consumers who buy either the Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2 in the U.S. came after a federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to extend an order that had allowed the watches to remain in stores during a battle over the rights to some of the technology.

A temporary stay issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals three weeks ago had allowed the two watch models to return to stores in the U.S. after Apple pulled them from shelves and websites just before Christmas as part of a long-running battle with medical technology company Masimo.

The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in late October that a blood-oxygen sensor in the Apple Watch models infringed on Masimo's patents, a finding that Apple is trying to overturn in appeals court. But that process could take at least a year to unfold, forcing Apple to find another way to keep its premium watches available in the U.S.

In a Monday court filing, Masimo disclosed Apple has won approval from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on revisions that would remove the blood-oxygen sensor from the watches.

The Series 9 and Ultra 2 models sold in the U.S. beginning Thursday will still come with a Blood Oxygen icon, but when it's pressed, users will be greeted by a notice informing them the technology isn't available.

Those who have already purchased the models will still be able to use the sensor. The sensor will continue to work on those watches purchased outside the U.S.

Apple's lower-cost watch, called the SE, isn't affected by the changes caused by the battle with Masimo because that model has never had the blood oxygen feature.