Shulou(Shulou.com)12/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, December 19 (Xinhua)-- A patent dispute between Apple and medical technology company Masimo has been simmering, with the recent ITC ruling that Apple infringes Masimo patents, which could lead to a ban on the sale of Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States.

According to the latest news, Apple is exploring a variety of solutions, one of which is to try to circumvent Masimo patents through software updates to the Apple Watch OS 10 system.

CTOnews.com previously reported that in October, ITC ruled that the Apple Watch's blood oxygen sensor infringed two Masimo patents, involving five separate patent infringements. The case has entered a 60-day presidential review period, which will end on December 25. The Biden administration could step in to veto the ITC ban, but so far no action has been taken.

According to earlier reports, Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will no longer be available for purchase from Apple's official website starting at 3: 00 p.m. EDT on December 21, and Apple retail stores will not be replenished after they are sold out on December 24.

Previous analysts have pointed out that Apple has a variety of options in dealing with the incident, including modifying its watchOS operating system to bypass two Masimo patents. The latest Bloomberg report confirms that Apple engineers are "rapidly revising the algorithm for monitoring users' blood oxygen levels", hoping to change the way Apple Watch "measures oxygen saturation and presents data to users."

This is "an unprecedented high-risk project," the report said. However, Masimo claims that the patent infringement is mainly related to the hardware level of Apple Watch blood oxygen sensor.

According to Apple's internal sources, the company believes that software updates, rather than more complex hardware modifications, will be enough to get the Apple Watch back on the shelves. But the core patents in dispute are mainly related to hardware, including how to emit light into the skin to measure the amount of oxygen in the body's blood.

An Apple spokesman confirmed to Bloomberg that the company was "submitting a solution to the U.S. customs agency responsible for product re-listing approval."

Masimo said that Apple Watch's "hardware needs to be changed" and that software fixes will not solve the problem.

It is not clear whether the software update will meet the requirements of US Customs or when it will be launched, and there is still some uncertainty about the future sales of Apple Watch.

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