Apple to Stop US Sales of Smartwatches After Patent Loss

Apple will stop selling the latest versions of its smartwatch in the US due to a patent dispute, taking some of its best-selling devices off the market during the busy holiday season.

Sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 will be halted on the company’s online store on Dec. 21 and at its physical retail locations beginning on Christmas Eve, it said in a statement Monday.

The company is preparing for a looming ban of Apple Watch models with a blood oxygen sensor — a feature first added to the lineup in 2020 — that Masimo Corp. says it invented.

The International Trade Commission ruled in October that Apple violates Masimo patents and would need to halt sales of infringing devices. The patents relate to how the watches calculate a person’s blood oxygen saturation.

A presidential review of that order is now underway. “While the review period will not end until Dec. 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand,” the company said.

Health features have become increasingly critical selling points for the Apple Watch, putting the company in competition with medical device makers. Masimo, based in Irvine, California, sells a range of health monitoring technology.

In a statement, Masimo said the ban “demonstrates that even the world’s most powerful company must abide by the law.”

“The ITC found that Apple stole Masimo’s patented pulse oximetry technology, which measures blood oxygen,” the company said. “The ITC undertook a thorough legal process and its expert judgment in this matter should be respected, protecting intellectual property rights and maintaining public trust in the United States’ patent system.”

The Series 9 and Ultra 2 models generate the vast majority of Apple’s watch sales. The company doesn’t say how much revenue the product line brings in, but it’s a core part of its Wearables, Home and Accessories business, which generates more than $40 billion a year.

According to analyst estimates, the Apple Watch alone made about $17 billion in fiscal 2023, which ended in September.

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