Apple has confirmed that it will stop selling its latest Apple Watch lineup in the United States effective later this week. The company confirmed the sales suspension in a new statement given to 9to5Mac.
In its statement with the publication, Apple confirms that its decision is due to a longstanding patent dispute with Masimo over the former allegedly infringing the latter’s blood oxygen sensor technology. As a result, the temporary ban will affect all Apple Watch models that include a blood oxygen sensor, which means that consumers will still be able to buy the Apple Watch SE as usual.
Apple states that the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 will no longer be available to purchase online from the company in the United States effective Thursday, December 21. The ban will also apply to physical sales in Apple Store locations from Sunday, December 24.
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Apple’s full statement is as follows:
A Presidential Review Period is in progress regarding an order from the U.S. International Trade Commission on a technical intellectual property dispute pertaining to Apple Watch devices containing the Blood Oxygen feature. While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand. This includes pausing sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Apple.com starting December 21, and from Apple retail locations after December 24.
Apple’s teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features. Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers.
Should the order stand, Apple will continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible.
Apple statement to 9to5Mac
The sales pause is due to a ruling from the US International Trade Commission (ITC), which agreed last October that Apple is indeed infringing on Masimo’s patents. Since October, the ITC’s ruling was subject to a Presedential Review Period of 60 days, during which the President of the United States could choose to veto the ITC’s decision allowing the company to restore sales of affected Apple Watch models. The Presedential Review Period expires on December 25 as noted by 9to5Mac.
As highlighted in the statement, Apple’s decision to halt sales is a preemptive one to comply with the sales ban in case a veto isn’t enacted in time before the Review Period elapses. While units of the affected Apple Watch models would still be availale to purchase through third-party retailers, the ITC’s ruling also bans importing the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 into the US after December 25. This means that all sales even through other retailers will no longer be possible after this date.
