Key Takeaways
- Apple is halting sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 to comply with a potential import ban.
- The ban is a result of a patent dispute surrounding the blood oxygen sensor technology used in the watches.
- The Biden administration has until December 25 to veto the decision before the import ban takes effect.
Apple plans to halt sales of its latest Apple Watch models. In a statement the company shared with 9to5, it said was “preemptively taking steps to comply” with a United States International Trade Commission (USITC) ruling that could see domestic imports of the wearables banned in response to an ongoing patent dispute centered around the blood oxygen sensor technology found in the two devices.
Apple Watch Series 9 vs Watch Ultra 2: Which should you buy?
Wondering how the Apple Watch Series 9 compares to the Watch Ultra 2? Here are the differences.
Starting on December 21 at 3pm ET, the Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 won’t be available to order through the company’s online store. As of December 24th, neither wearable will be available to purchase in-store at the more than 270 retail locations Apple operates throughout the US. For the time being, retailers like Amazon and Best Buy will continue to sell both wearables, though that could change. Apple will continue to sell lower-end variants like the Apple Watch SE, as those models don’t include the sensor that’s at the center of the patent dispute. Apple will continue to sell older Watch models, and the Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 will continue to be sold outside the US.
At the start of the year, a US judged ruled Apple had infringed a patent owned by a Masimo, a California-based medical technology company. In October, the USITC, upheld the decision and sent the case to the Biden administration for a 60-day Presidential Review Period.
A Presidential Review Period is in progress regarding an order from the U.S. International Trade Commission on a technical intellectual property dispute pertaining to Apple Watch devices containing the Blood Oxygen feature. While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand. This includes pausing sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Apple.com starting December 21, and from Apple retail locations after December 24.
Apple’s teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features. Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers.
Should the order stand, Apple will continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible.
What happens next?
The Presidential Review Period ends on December 25, giving the Biden administration one more week to veto the USITC’s decision before an import ban goes into effect. At that point, resellers like Amazon and Best Buy will be obligated to take the Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 off their store shelves.
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