Apple Watch blood oxygen saga enters new phase after ITC judge ruling
Apple’s redesigned Apple Watch blood oxygen feature has cleared an important early hurdle in the US, with an ITC judge finding it does not infringe Masimo’s patents. At the same time, a separate court decision keeps the original ban in place, meaning Apple still cannot bring back the old version of the feature.
This builds directly on what was discussed in our earlier piece from February, where Apple’s workaround first came into focus. Back then, the key question was whether shifting functionality to the iPhone would be enough to sidestep the legal issues. Now we have the first real answer.
What the judge actually said
The latest development comes from ITC Administrative Law Judge Monica Bhattacharyya. In an initial determination, she found that Apple’s redesigned implementation does not violate Masimo’s patents.
The wording here matters. The judge stated there is no underlying act of direct infringement, even when the Apple Watch is paired with an iPhone. That effectively validates Apple’s redesign strategy, at least at this stage.
There is still a process to go through. This is not a final ruling. The full ITC Commission will now review the decision before making a final call. Still, initial determinations like this tend to carry weight.
Apple has welcomed the outcome and pointed out that many of Masimo’s claims over the past six years have been rejected. That gives you a sense of how long this dispute has been dragging on.
Why the redesign matters
The workaround itself is quite deliberate. Apple has shifted most of the processing away from the watch and onto the iPhone.
In practice, you can still initiate a blood oxygen reading from the Apple Watch. But the result does not appear on the watch itself. You have to check the paired iPhone to see the data.
That is a clear break from how the feature originally worked. Previously, everything happened directly on the watch, including the display of results.
From a user experience point of view, this is a compromise. It keeps the feature alive in some form, but it is less convenient and arguably less aligned with the idea of a standalone health device.
From a legal perspective, though, it seems to be doing exactly what Apple intended. It creates enough separation to avoid direct infringement, at least according to this initial finding.
The original ban is still very real
At the same time, a separate decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reinforces the constraints Apple is still under.
The court has affirmed the ITC’s original exclusion order from 2023. That is the same order that forced Apple to halt Apple Watch sales in the US briefly in December of that year.
Sales resumed not long after, but only with the original blood oxygen feature disabled. That situation is not changing.
The key takeaway is simple. Apple can sell watches in the US with the redesigned feature. It cannot restore the original version.
Apple has said it disagrees with this decision and is considering further legal options. So this is not the end of the road.
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