Apple To Halt Sales Of Its Watch Series 9 And Ultra 2 Models In US (Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash)

Apple Watch fans in the United States are disappointed, as the tech giant informed that they would halt the sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the US starting this week. Apple was forced to take this decision due to a patent dispute over the technology that enables the blood oxygen feature on its smartwatches.

As per a 9to5Mac report, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will no longer be available on Apple’s website in the United States after 3 p.m. ET on December 21. The company would also pause the sale of these watches from its retail locations after December 24. The tech world witnessed a long-running patent dispute between Apple and California-based medical technology firm Masimo to the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen sensor technology.

In October, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the Apple Watch violated patents owned by Masimo. The legal battle is over the patents for light-based technology to measure blood oxygen saturation. The trade commission’s final decision could stop Apple from importing models of its smartwatches with the feature. Notably, ITC has sent the case to the Joe Biden administration for a 60-day Presidential Review Period, which expires on December 25. The Office of the US Trade Representative has told Reuters that Ambassador Katherine Tai “is carefully considering all factors in this case.” US President Biden has the power to veto the ruling. Otherwise, the ban would go into effect on December 26.

This ban only applies to Apple Watches that offer blood oxygen monitoring. This means that other models, including the Apple Watch SE, are still available. On the other hand, Apple is reportedly working on a software update. Bloomberg reported on December 19 that Apple is working to change algorithms and the software it currently uses on the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 models concerning blood oxygen monitoring.