The International Trade Commission (ITC) recently imposed restrictions on the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 due to a patent infringement involving Masimo’s technology. This led to the disabling of the blood oxygen monitoring feature for U.S. users. However, Apple has announced a clever solution to bring back this functionality, showcasing their innovation and strategic thinking.
Apple Watch users can now once again utilize the blood oxygen monitoring feature by updating their devices. To access this feature, users should ensure their paired iPhone is updated to iOS 18.6.1 and their Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. The data collected from the Blood Oxygen app on the Apple Watch will be processed and displayed on the iPhone, and users can view their results in the ‘Respiratory’ section of the Health app. This workaround was made possible due to a favorable U.S. Customs ruling.
Apple reassured users that models with the original blood oxygen functionality, as well as those acquired internationally, will not be affected by this workaround. Although this process requires some additional steps and an iPhone, it stands as Apple’s resourceful solution to continue providing the service.
