Starting today, sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the U.S. will be suspended once more, following Apple’s failed bid to pause the sales ban during its appeal against an ITC ruling. The ruling found that the blood oxygen feature in Apple’s watches infringed upon patents owned by medical tech firm Masimo.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit formally rejected Apple’s request to freeze the ban, considering factors such as Apple’s chances of success in its appeal. The court, however, explicitly stated that this rejection does not reflect on the overall merits of Apple’s appeal.
In a bid to avoid the sales halt, Apple could potentially implement a software update that disables the blood oxygen sensing feature on its watches. This move could keep its devices outside the scope of the ITC ban, according to a statement by U.S. Customs earlier this week.
While Apple’s appeal will continue, this sales halt doesn’t indicate a final verdict on the appeal and doesn’t necessarily preclude the possibility of the blood oxygen features being reinstated in future sales.
This marks the third change in the sales status of the current Apple Watch models in less than a month – from a sales ban to a resumption of sales, and now another imminent stoppage. The step Apple will take when the 5 PM ET deadline arrives remains to be seen.
