Apple halts sales of latest watches in the US amidst looming ban over patent dispute

This issue is rooted in a years-long patent dispute with Masimo. The American medical equipment manufacturer alleges that Apple Watches violated their intellectual property and has been striving to obstruct their import to the US since 2020.

In October 2020, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) found that Apple's products breached two of Masimo's patents about blood oxygenation monitoring. It issued a judgment banning the import of Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. Although American regulations grant the president 60 days to veto the ITC decision, the timeframe, which ends on December 25, has elicited no action from the Joe Biden administration.

Apple released a statement maintaining that they chose to terminate sales "preemptively" even before the ban could take effect.

Thus, Apple Watch 9 and Ultra 2 are scheduled to be removed from the American online store on December 21, and post December 24, will also be unobtainable in physical Apple stores.

If the ban is enforced, importing the latest generation of Apple watches to the US will be put on hold. However, partner retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy will be able to sell from their warehouse stock.

As Apple has foreseen these complications, they might have secured stock for several months in advance. The company also states that it "staunchly disagrees with the decision and is investigating a myriad of legal and technical avenues to ensure that the Apple Watch remains available to customers".

The ITC decision does not in any way influence watches that have already been sold, nor their availability in Europe.