Apple is putting its latest premium Apple Watch models back up for sale now that the short-lived ban has paused for the time being, as reported by The Verge.
The Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, which the company was previously barred from selling directly amidst a patent dispute, was available again in Apple Stores as early as Wednesday. Apple representative Nikki Rothberg said in a statement to The Verge that online sales will resume Thursday by 3 p.m. EST.
This comes after the company officials pulled the two Apple Watch models from sale ahead of the review period ending on December 25. The devices were listed as “Currently Unavailable” on Apple.com starting on December 21, and they were pulled from sale at Apple retail stores after December 24. This means that once all is said and done, the initial ban lasted just less than one week.
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The company was fast on its feet in response to a federal appeals court putting a pause on the ban on sales of all models containing the blood oxygen sensor. Medical technology firm Masimo argues the technology in the Apple Watch infringes on their patents.
“Apple’s teams have worked tirelessly over many years to develop technology that empowers users with industry-leading health, wellness and safety features,” Rothberg said in the statement emailed to The Verge. “We are pleased the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit responded Wednesday to an appeal Apple filed just a day earlier asking to resume sales of the Apple Watch models included in the ban after President Biden declined to veto the order. This pauses the sales ban for two weeks, with the order set to tentatively go back in effect on Wednesday, January 10.
The company is also waiting on U.S. Customs and Border Protection to respond to its proposal for changes to the models that could skirt the patent infringement concerns, with the ruling scheduled for January 12.
This new order only applies to Apple’s official sales channels; the other order had no impact on other retailers, with the Apple Watch models in question still for sale at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and others. The ban also does not apply to the more affordable Apple Watch SE, which lacks the blood oxygen sensor.
