Apple to remove blood oxygen app from its watches to evade import ban: Report

San Francisco, Jan 16

In a document filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, medical technology company Masimo has said that Apple has prepared modified Apple Watch models that "do not contain pulse oximetry functionality".

As per the filing, the tech giant will be removing the blood oxygen app from new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models sold in the US -- at least temporarily, reports MacRumors.

This change will let Apple bypass an import and sales ban on its watches with blood oxygen feature, which the US International Trade Commission ordered last year after ruling that Apple violated Masimo's pulse oximetry patents.

"Apple's claim that its redesigned watch does not contain pulse oximetry is a positive step toward accountability," a Masimo spokesperson was quoted as saying.

"It is especially important that one of the world's largest and most powerful companies respects the intellectual property rights of smaller companies and complies with ITC orders when it is caught infringing," it added.

According to the report, existing owners of the watches will likely retain access to the feature, and models sold in other nations are not expected to lose it.

The Apple watches were banned in the US last year after the ITC ruled that the blood oxygen sensors violated patents belonging to Masimo.

However, after some days, Apple resumed the sale of Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 at some of its retail stores in the US, after an appeals court paused the ban on the devices.