Masimo Sues US Customs After Apple Watch Models Restore Blood Oxygen Tracking Feature

Apple Watch Series 9, along with Watch Ultra 2, dropped the ability to measure blood oxygen in the US after a 2024 ruling said that several Apple Watch models infringed on patents held by Masimo. Recently, the Cupertino, California-based company found a way to bypass the restriction in the country, bringing the feature back for Watch Series 10, Series 9, and Watch Ultra 2 users. Now, the medical instruments maker Masimo, the company that forced Apple to remove the feature in the first place, has filed a lawsuit against the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for allegedly allowing the company to provide this feature to its customers.

Apple Allegedly Found a Way Around The Restriction

According to the court document shared by Bloomberg Law, Masimo has filed a lawsuit against the US CBP for reversing its January 2024 order that forced Apple to disable the Blood Oxygen measurement feature in the US. The company has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court of the District of Columbia, alleging that the US CBP, in its August 1 ruling, did not justify the reversal of its stand on the issue.

To avoid a possible import ban in the US, Apple stopped offering its blood oxygen feature on the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in January 2024. While the hardware was still present on the smartwatches, the tech giant had merely disabled the pulse oximeter feature in the country. In its earlier lawsuit, Masimo had claimed that the Cupertino tech giant's SpO2 measurement feature infringed on the patents the medical tech company held.

On August 14, Apple reintroduced the pulse oximeter feature via an OTA update for the Apple Watch Series 9, Watch Series 10, and Watch Ultra 2 in the US. Since it had not removed the SpO2 sensor, it was easier for the company to bring the feature back. Also, Apple allegedly found a way to provide the same without infringing on Masimo's patent.

The tech giant can now potentially collect Apple Watch Series 10, Watch Series 9, and Watch Ultra 2 wearers' data through the SpO2 sensor on its smartwatches. However, the blood oxygen levels will be calculated on the paired iPhone, instead of the smartwatch. A user's SpO2 level will be displayed in the Health app.