Apple rolls out a software update that enables a redesigned blood oxygen monitoring feature for its Watch Series 9, 10, and Ultra 2, circumventing the ITC ban
but there's a catch Sean Whooley / MassDevice : Apple to reintroduce blood oxygen measurements on watches Johanna Romero / PhoneArena : Blood oxygen monitoring returns to Apple Watch in the US — but with a twist Laurent Giret / Thurrott : Apple Redesigned its Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Feature to Circumvent ITC Import Ban Macworld : Apple Watch blood-oxygen feature returns in iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 iClarified : Apple to Restore Blood Oxygen Feature to Apple Watch in the U.S. With Software Update Tom Sykes / The Apple Post : Apple to introduce redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for Apple Watch in the US today Justin Kahn / 9to5Toys : Apple Watch Series 10 models up to $149 off just as new Blood Oxygen feature makes triumphant return in the U.S. Vineet Washington / Notebookcheck : Blood Oxygen monitoring returning to Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 Igor Bonifacic / Engadget : Apple's ‘redesigned’ blood oxygen monitoring feature hits Apple Watches in the US today Dennis Sellers / MacTech.com : Apple to offer a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for some Apple Watches today Michael Tsai : The Return of Blood Oxygen for Apple Watch Mastodon: Nick Heer / @nickheer@c.im : So if I'm reading this right, the functional qualities of the oxygen sensor are entirely unchanged, but because the data undergoes a round trip through an iPhone, it somehow doesn't infringe upon the patents in question? Intellectual property as comedy. https://www.apple.com/... X: Mark Gurman / @markgurman : It's really a clever workaround but much better than nothing: “Sensor data from the Blood Oxygen app on Apple Watch will be measured and calculated on the paired iPhone, and results can be viewed in the Respiratory section of the Health app.” Mark Gurman / @markgurman : NEWS: Apple is bringing back Blood Oxygen in the US to the Apple Watch — TODAY — just weeks ahead of the next generation models. LinkedIn: Kevin Uhles : ⌚️Apple will introduce a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users through … Forums: r/AppleWatch : Blood oxygen sensors being reactivated in some Apple Watch models r/apple : An update on Blood Oxygen for Apple Watch in the U.S. r/AppleWatchFitness : Blood oxygen is coming back to Apple Watch today BeauHD / Slashdot : Apple Returns Blood Oxygen Monitoring to the Latest Apple Watches
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s current workaround follows the 2024 disruption in which it removed the feature from affected Watch sales after an appeals-court decision allowed the pulse-oximetry import ban to resume.
The redesign shifts measurement and calculation to the paired iPhone, with results surfaced in Health. That makes the feature’s return a software-and-device architecture change, not simply restoration of the earlier on-watch experience.
First-order effects
- U.S. owners of Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 can again access blood-oxygen measurements after installing the update, but need a paired iPhone to process and view results.
- Apple can restore a health-feature capability on affected current watches while retaining an implementation intended to avoid the patents implicated by the ITC ban.
Second-order effects
- The paired-iPhone design makes the Apple Watch feature more dependent on Apple’s phone and Health app, reducing the standalone utility of the measurement relative to an on-watch workflow.
- Patent enforcement now tests the revised implementation rather than the prior disabled product configuration, putting Apple’s technical separation of sensing from calculation at the center of any further dispute.
Third-order effects
- If this approach holds, regulated wearable features may increasingly be redesigned across device, phone, and cloud layers to preserve product value while working around jurisdiction-specific IP constraints.
- The episode illustrates how software updates can become a remediation tool for hardware-linked legal restrictions, though durability depends on whether the new design withstands scrutiny.
The trend: Wearable makers are treating software architecture and companion-device processing as levers for maintaining health features amid product-specific legal constraints.