Blood oxygen function on the Apple Watch remains banned in the USA
The pulse oximeter on Apple's US version of its computer watch has been switched off for more than a year. Meanwhile, the patent dispute with Masimo continues.
Pulse oximeter on the Apple Watch: feature offline in the USA for a long time.
(Image: Apple)
Apple has still not succeeded in settling a patent dispute with medical technology manufacturer Masimo that has been pending for several years. As a result, Apple Watch users in the United States have been unable to use the blood oxygen measurement feature, which has been part of the devices since Series 6, since winter 2023. Meanwhile, there was even a threat of an import ban, which Apple then circumvented by changing the software.
Feature simply switched off
As the financial news agency Bloomberg reported on the weekend, there are currently no plans to bring the function back to US devices. The function remains hidden for new buyers of the current Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 2 variants, even though the hardware provides it.
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Apple does not seem willing to reach an agreement with Masimo. The case was last heard about in October last year, when Apple partially managed to win a counterclaim – with very little money at stake. An appeal against the ban on importing or using the blood oxygen function is still ongoing. The outcome is still unclear. The process is complicated by the fact that both local courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) are involved. Apple is also competing against another American company. The company cannot therefore count on “patriotic” help from the ITC.
Blood oxygen measurement not perfect
However, the pulse oximeter in the Apple Watch has never really been extremely popular. Apple itself always points out that the feature is not a medical function. The blood oxygen app serves “wellness and fitness purposes”. In the first tests when it was launched in 2020, there was also criticism of the measurement accuracy.
In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the function of a pulse oximeter was very important to determine whether there were difficulties with oxygen supply in the context of an illness. Even now, the watch regularly checks the blood oxygen level, but sometimes this does not work at night. Interestingly, Apple has implemented a feature for detecting sleep apnoea without the blood oxygen sensor. Instead, the precise motion sensors of the computer watch are used, among other things.
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