According to technology media MacRumors, Apple recently announced the launch of two smartwatches, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, in the US market starting from January 18th, both of which are not equipped with blood oxygen detection. This measure enables Apple to avoid restrictions on these products due to sales bans.
Apple Inc. stated that the new Apple Watch will still be equipped with the Blood Oxygen app, but users will receive a warning when opening the app, indicating that the app has been deactivated and guiding them to the Health app on their iPhone.
In addition, Apple has confirmed that the blood oxygen application will continue to be available on the previously sold Series 9 and Ultra 2 models. As the sales ban only applies to the US market, Apple Watch sold outside the US can still continue to use this feature.
In 2023, the International Trade Commission (ITC) of the United States issued a ban on the import and sale of Apple Watch models with blood oxygen detection capabilities. Previously, the committee ruled that Apple had infringed on Masimo's patent for pulse oximetry. This feature was first introduced on Series 6 in 2020.
Apple competitor Masimo has accused Apple of stealing trade secrets and poaching employees. According to Masimo, they believe that Apple has developed five pulse oximeter patents using the information stolen from them. Masimo hopes to obtain ownership of these patents and claims $3.1 billion from Apple.
Masimo's CEO Joe Kiani said, "Apple disguises the products they offer to consumers as reliable medical pulse oximeters, but that's not the case. I sincerely feel that without it, consumers would be better off."
In July 2013, Apple hired Michael O'Reilly, Masimo's Chief Medical Officer, as the new Chief Medical Officer. Subsequently, in early 2014, the company hired Marcelo Lamego, Chief Technology Officer of Cercacor, a subsidiary of Masimo, to join its Apple Watch team.
Masimo claims that Apple deliberately poached their employees, especially Lamego, who shared Masimo's confidential information with Apple. However, Apple claims that hiring these two individuals is not related to their work experience at Masimo, but rather based on their talents. Apple insists that during the development of the Apple Watch, Masimo's former employees did not disclose Masimo's intellectual property.
According to O'Reilly and Lamego's testimony, they claim that Masimo's intellectual property has never been applied to Apple's work.
Currently, Apple is in the process of appealing and they strongly disagree with the ITC's ruling, hoping that the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals will overturn it. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman stated that Apple is preparing a software update to adjust the algorithm of its blood oxygen application in an attempt to circumvent Masimo's patented technology. It is currently unclear whether this effort will succeed, and the legal battle between Apple and Masimo may still have a long way to go.
A spokesperson for Masimo said, "Apple claims that their redesigned watches no longer include pulse oximeters, indicating that they are actively taking action to fulfill their responsibilities."
According to a previous study by Masimo, they claimed that the blood oxygen detection function of the Apple Watch "failed to detect more than 90% of potential life-threatening events" and promoted the effectiveness of their own Masimo W1 health watch.
According to Bloomberg, Masimo CEO Joe Kiani recently stated that there has been no discussion with Apple about a possible settlement plan.
Kiani stated that he has not personally talked to any Apple personnel, nor has he had any contact with Apple to reach a settlement agreement. He did mention that the court had ordered mediation, but he was unable to disclose further details. He believes that there may be more discussions in the future, but he does not believe that these discussions can completely resolve the dispute between the two companies.
As early as December 2023, Kiani stated that Masimo was willing to reach a settlement with Apple and would help improve their products. However, he stated that as part of the settlement, he hoped to receive an apology and an "honest conversation".