> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Apple Halts Online U.S. Sales of Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 as Masimo Patent Dispute Nears Import Ban - URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/taq-historical-2023-12-23-tech/ - Published: 2023-12-24T04:59:00.000Z - Updated: 2023-12-24T04:59:00.000Z - Description: Apple removed Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 from its U.S. online store ahead of a Dec. 25 trade order tied to Masimo pulse-oximetry patents, with Apple retail sales scheduled to pause after Dec. 24. - Author: Kenneth R. Deans Jr. - Tags: Tech, #Import 2026-09-01 09:02 Apple has stopped selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 through its U.S. online store, an unusually visible consequence of a medical-technology patent dispute that is moving toward a federal import ban. The company pulled the two flagship watches from Apple.com on Thursday and says it will stop selling them through U.S. Apple retail stores after Dec. 24 unless the legal situation changes. The action stems from an October [U.S. International Trade Commission order](https://www.usitc.gov/certain%5Flight%5Fbased%5Fphysiological%5Fmeasurement%5F0?ref=theamericanquorum.com) finding that certain Apple Watches infringe patents asserted by Masimo involving light-based blood-oxygen measurement. The ITC issued exclusion and cease-and-desist orders that are scheduled to take effect after a 60-day presidential review period ends Dec. 25. ## A health sensor becomes a trade-law problem The dispute centers on the blood-oxygen feature Apple introduced with the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020\. Pulse oximetry estimates blood oxygen saturation by shining light through tissue and analyzing the reflected signal. Masimo, a California medical-device company with a long history in hospital pulse-oximetry systems, accused Apple of infringing patents and of recruiting Masimo employees while developing its own technology. An ITC administrative law judge issued an initial infringement finding in January. Masimo described that decision in a [company statement](https://www.masimo.com/media/itc-judge-rules-apple-violated-u-s-trade-laws-by-infringing-masimo-pulse-oximeter-patent?ref=theamericanquorum.com), arguing that Apple had violated U.S. trade law. The full commission’s [Oct. 26 action](https://www.masimo.com/media/united-states-international-trade-commission-issues-exclusion-order-for-infringing-apple-watches-finding-that-apple-violated-u-s-trade-laws?ref=theamericanquorum.com) upheld infringement findings involving two Masimo patents and issued the orders now approaching implementation. Apple strongly disputes the ruling. In a statement provided to [9to5Mac](https://9to5mac.com/2023/12/18/apple-halting-apple-watch-series-9-and-apple-watch-ultra-2-sales/?ref=theamericanquorum.com), the company said it is pursuing legal and technical options and is taking preemptive steps to comply while the presidential review period is still open. Apple says it will work to return the affected watches to U.S. customers as soon as possible if the order stands. ## The sales pause is narrower than a total market withdrawal As of this week, the restriction is most visible at Apple itself. The Series 9 and Ultra 2 disappeared from Apple’s U.S. online store after 3 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 21\. [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/21/apple-has-halted-watch-series-9-and-ultra-2-online-sales/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reported that Apple’s physical U.S. stores can continue selling existing inventory through Dec. 24\. Third-party retailers may also continue selling units they already possess, subject to inventory. The Apple Watch SE is unaffected because it does not include the blood-oxygen feature at issue. Watches already purchased are not disabled by the trade order, and their existing functions continue to operate. The dispute concerns importation and new sales of covered devices rather than remote deactivation of products already in consumers’ hands. The timing is commercially significant. Apple is pausing sales of two of its newest wearables during the final days of the holiday shopping season. The [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/ac77c3bec3e683021b6dd525ef36cd29?ref=theamericanquorum.com) noted that the Series 9 and Ultra 2 are central products in a wearables business that has made Apple one of the world’s largest watch sellers. ## Apple fails to win an interim reprieve from the ITC Apple asked the commission to stay its remedial orders while an appeal proceeds, but the ITC denied that request on Dec. 20\. [The denial](https://9to5mac.com/2023/12/20/itc-ban-apple-watch-denied/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) means the company cannot rely on the commission itself to postpone the Dec. 25 implementation date. The presidential review period remains open through Christmas. During that period the administration can disapprove an ITC exclusion order on policy grounds, a power used only rarely. As of Dec. 23, no such action has been announced. Apple has said it intends to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit after the review period ends. Apple is also reported to be exploring software changes designed to address the disputed functionality. Whether a software modification would avoid the patents is itself contested. Masimo Chief Executive Joe Kiani has argued that the issue is rooted in hardware and that software alone would not resolve the infringement finding. The ultimate technical path will depend on how U.S. Customs and the courts interpret any redesigned product. ## The conflict shows the value and risk of medical features in consumer devices Apple has increasingly positioned the Watch as a health platform, adding electrocardiogram capability, heart-rate alerts, fall detection, temperature sensing and blood-oxygen measurement over successive generations. That strategy can differentiate a consumer device and create clinically relevant data, but it also brings Apple into technical fields with mature medical-device companies and dense patent portfolios. Masimo’s core business is clinical monitoring, and its dispute with Apple illustrates how consumer-electronics companies can encounter intellectual-property claims when they move into physiological measurement. The legal questions are about patent infringement and trade remedies, not whether blood-oxygen monitoring is useful to consumers. [Reuters](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/dec/18/apple-watch-sales-pause-patent-dispute?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reported that the coming pause is unusual for Apple because the company rarely removes a current flagship product from its home market for legal reasons. The episode therefore creates a practical test of Apple’s ability to redesign, settle or litigate around a patent conflict without materially disrupting a major product line. ## The decisive dates are still ahead As of Saturday, Apple’s online U.S. sales are already halted, but company-owned stores remain scheduled to sell the Series 9 and Ultra 2 through Dec. 24\. The presidential review period ends Dec. 25\. Any appeal, customs review of a redesign, negotiated settlement or government intervention will occur after those steps unless an unexpected action comes sooner. That means the dispute remains unresolved at the moment the consumer impact becomes tangible. Apple has not conceded infringement and Masimo has not withdrawn its claims. The ITC order is poised to take effect, but appellate litigation can continue. For customers, the immediate distinction is straightforward: Apple itself has stopped online U.S. sales of its two blood-oxygen-equipped flagship watches, while existing devices and the lower-priced Watch SE are unaffected. For the technology industry, the larger question is whether Apple can preserve one of its most prominent health features without infringing patents that the federal trade agency has now found enforceable against its products.