Apple plans to sell the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 without the blood oxygen feature online starting at 6am PT on January 18 and in Apple Stores on the same day
and save $70 Jay Peters / The Verge : Apple Watches without banned blood oxygen features will go on sale Thursday morning TechRadar : Apple is now selling versions of the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 without banned feature Rich Brome / Phone Scoop : Apple Resumes Watch Sales with Blood Oxygen Features Disabled Rajesh Pandey / Cult of Mac : Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 without blood oxygen feature go on sale in US Conor Allison / Wareable : Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 will no longer come with blood oxygen feature Abdul Raouf Al Sbeei / Supercharged : Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 to be sold without blood oxygen feature in US Maren Estrada / BGR : Last chance to buy Apple Watch Series 9 before the blood oxygen sensor is gone Tim Hardwick / MacRumors : Apple Updates Website to Highlight Removal of Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Feature Carrie Marshall / T3 : Apple Watch goes on sale without oxygen monitoring - but existing owners aren't affected Steve Vegvari / iPhone in Canada Blog : Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Watch Series 9 to Be Sold Without Blood Oxygen Features Rikka Altland / 9to5Toys : Save $50 on nearly every Apple Watch Ultra 2 style before blood oxygen features get the boot John Callaham / Neowin : The Apple Watch Series 9 will now be sold in the US without a working blood oxygen feature iClarified : Apple to Begin Selling Apple Watch Without Blood Oxygen Feature Starting Tomorrow Adamya Sharma / Android Authority : Apple will now sell Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 without blood oxygen tracking Nick Soong / Appleosophy : Apple to Start Selling Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models without Blood Oxygen Tomorrow Alan Friedman / PhoneArena : Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models without pulse oximeter go on sale in U.S. tomorrow Kif Leswing / CNBC : Apple will avoid ban by selling latest Apple Watches without blood oxygen feature Joe Rossignol / MacRumors : Apple to Sell Series 9 and Ultra 2 Watches Without Blood Oxygen Feature in U.S. Starting Tomorrow GSMArena.com : Apple is now selling Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9 without blood oxygen feature in US John Gruber / Daring Fireball : Apple Will Begin Selling Series 9 and Ultra Watches With Blood Oxygen Sensors Disabled Tomorrow Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends : The Apple Watch sales ban is about to start again Gabriela Vatu / Pocket-lint : Apple Watch Series 9 hits new record low price X: &DAGGER Lucia Scarlet / @luciascarlet : wonder if people are going to start reselling earlier batches of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 in the US at some insane markup since they'll actually keep the pulse oximeter feature (it'll only be removed from newly sold devices) Joe Rossignol / @rsgnl : Apple says the Blood Oxygen app will remain functional on all previously-bought Series 9 and Ultra 2 models, as expected. Mark Gurman / @markgurman : NEW: Apple says it will begin selling Apple Watch Ultra 2, Series 9 WITHOUT blood oxygen beginning Jan. 18. https://www.bloomberg.com/... Mark Gurman / @markgurman : Apple was prepared for the scenario in which they lost the appeal today, having already sent stores the watches without blood oxygen a few days ago. This preparation means that sales of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9 won't need to be halted again - they'll just lose O2. Mark Gurman / @markgurman : Free idea for Apple: throw in a $10 pulse oximeter from Amazon with every new Apple Watch purchase. Forums: MacRumors Forums : Apple to Sell Series 9 and Ultra 2 Watches Without Blood Oxygen Feature in U.S. Starting Tomorrow
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had briefly pulled the affected watches from its US online store before resuming sales after a week of unavailability. The renewed restriction beginning January 18 required a different response: keep the hardware on sale while removing the disputed capability from newly sold units.
The episode matters because it separates Apple’s installed base from new US inventory: previously purchased Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches retain Blood Oxygen, while new buyers do not. Later coverage of a redesigned blood oxygen monitoring update shows how product changes can become a route back to constrained features.
First-order effects
- Apple can continue selling the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 online and in stores, but newly sold US units ship with Blood Oxygen disabled or removed.
- New buyers lose access to the feature, while owners of previously purchased Series 9 and Ultra 2 models keep it.
Second-order effects
- Apple must manage two versions of effectively the same watch in the US market, making retail messaging, support, and buyer expectations more complex.
- The workaround reduces the immediate impact of the renewed pulse-oximetry sales restriction, which again applied from January 18, but preserves pressure to alter the feature rather than merely pause distribution.
Third-order effects
- The case points to software-defined health features becoming a point of regulatory and commercial segmentation: capability can differ by sale date or market even when the underlying product line remains on shelves.
- If this pattern persists, wearable makers will need product and software architectures that can disable, redesign, or restore regulated functions without withdrawing entire devices.
The trend: Wearable makers are increasingly treating health features as modular, market-specific capabilities to preserve hardware sales amid regulatory constraints.