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The Courts Patents Apple

Apple Returns Blood Oxygen Monitoring to the Latest Apple Watches (techcrunch.com) 23

Posted by BeauHD from the back-at-it-again dept.
Apple has reintroduced blood oxygen monitoring to certain Apple Watch models in the U.S. by shifting the feature's calculations to the paired iPhone, sidestepping an ITC import ban stemming from its legal dispute with medical device maker Masimo. TechCrunch reports: Blood oxygen data will be measured and calculated on the user's paired iPhone, and results can be viewed in the Respiratory section of the Health app. This means users won't be able to view the data on their Apple Watch, as they'll need to do so on their iPhone. Apple says the update announced today is enabled by a recent U.S. Customs ruling, which means that the tech giant is allowed to import Apple Watches with the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature.

The change doesn't affect previously sold models with the original version of the feature or units bought outside the U.S. The redesigned feature only applies to Apple Watches that were sold after the ITC import ban took effect in early 2024. These users can access the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature through an iPhone and Apple Watch software update coming on Thursday.

Apple Returns Blood Oxygen Monitoring to the Latest Apple Watches More | Reply

Apple Returns Blood Oxygen Monitoring to the Latest Apple Watches

Comments Filter:

  • great feature (Score:3)

    by kencurry ( 471519 ) on Thursday August 14, 2025 @06:40PM (#65590662)
    Apple, you have the resources. Work out the licensing deal and keep the display on the watch.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Apple, you have the resources. Work out the licensing deal and keep the display on the watch.

      If Masimo and Apple cannot make a deal, Apple could choose to just purchase Masimo in an all cash transaction.....

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Sebby ( 238625 )

      Apple, you have the resources. Work out the licensing deal and keep the display on the watch.

      Yes, it's quite amazing that Apple can charge a premium for its devices, some amount of fees from ApplePay use, 15-30% of in-app purchase sales, and developer fees on top of all that, but somehow still doesn't seem to have the means to pay for licensing of some other company's IP they use in their products.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by toddz ( 697874 )
        Yeah not sure why Apple can't reach an agreement with Masimo unless Masimo wants some unreasonable fees. Searching on the web shows a fee schedule of 10% but it seems to indicate the fee would only be on the value increase of adding the SpO2 sensor so one would thing that it negligible compared to the sale price.
      • It may not be a matter of means, but a matter or will. It's possible that Masimo wanted something in a licensing agreement that Apple didn't want to provide. For instance, some patent deals contain cross-licensing agreements which indemnify both parties from patent violations with each other. Given Apple's large portfolio of patents, and their fondness for litigating them, they likely wouldn't go for a deal like that if that's what Masimo was demanding (I need to state that this is all speculation on my

    • Apple, you have the resources. Work out the licensing deal and keep the display on the watch.

      Theres some weird shit happening with it. My watch predates the lawsuit, and I got it because a hospital GP friend told me a number of heart attack patients had been saved after their watch called an ambulance when they collapsed. That sounds pretty good to me. It also measures my blood oxygen which tends a little low for me due to being a smoker in my younger years (it avgs around 95%, it should be 98%).

      But it comp

    • Re:great feature (Score:4, Interesting)

      by NoMoreACs ( 6161580 ) on Thursday August 14, 2025 @11:36PM (#65591148)

      Apple, you have the resources. Work out the licensing deal and keep the display on the watch.

      They tried.

      Masimo wasn't Dealing. Period.

    • Okay I looked up Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI). They are medical device company, core business is medical monitoring 9B market cap, and they market their own watch. Their watch does oxysat, pulse, HR, steps & perfusion index. So they fought it out with apple to maintain their "dominance" in watch. I've been in the hospital recently in CA, heart condition, lots of cardiologist and EP docs in my life lately. They all wear Apple Watch. They ask me to check values on my watch (I have an older one that's always had

      • Not once did anyone mention to me that their is another, superior design from a company called Maximo.

        No one said Masimo's design is superior. But their design is patented. Also, just because Apple's product is more popular doesn't mean that it's superior. I'm not defending Masimo (I know nothing about their watches), but I'm just bringing up a general point.

        Another strange item I found was that the CEO was recently ousted for investing decision of one billion for a head phone company (Bower Wilkins)??

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        Who is on their board advising the CEO to ignore Apple in wearables? Another strange item I found was that the CEO was recently ousted for investing decision of one billion for a head phone company (Bower Wilkins)?? What was that person thinking? "F apple, I'm getting into the headphone game now, I'll show them?"

        Likely because they're a medical device company and Apple is a consumer electronics company - and Apple wouldn't bother going through all the hoops the FDA has to make the Apple Watch approved for m

    • Apple, you have the resources. Work out the licensing deal and keep the display on the watch.

      It's called extortion. You pay off one company, you gotta pay off all of 'em. And they'll all come knocking as soon as they smell blood in the water.

      I don't know enough of the details to be able to say who is right and who is wrong in this instance; but I do know if you just start paying off anyone who comes to you with a claim that you violated XYZ or your product is similar to product ABC, you'll never stop paying and the "claims" will keep coming.

      • It's called extortion. You pay off one company, you gotta pay off all of 'em

        Extortion is demanding money that was not earned. It may be fair to call shameless shakedowns with highly questionable claims as extortion, but in this case the violation was pretty blatant. And when a court issues an injunction against your product over a core function of the device, it's usually pragmatic to do everything you can work out an agreement.

        • it's usually pragmatic to do everything you can work out an agreement

          Certainly. But if one side (or both sides) is making unreasonable demands, then there's nothing you can do to "work it out." If, for instance, Masimo is demanding $100 billion, or if Apple is offering to pay $1; there's no amount of working it out that will resolve the conflict. Masimo continues holding out for more than whatever Apple offered, and Apple is holding out to pay less than what Masimo offered. Apple sees it as a shakedown / extortion, while Masimo sees it as theft of their intellectual property

  • Is this a good patent? (Score:3)

    by jonwil ( 467024 ) on Thursday August 14, 2025 @08:19PM (#65590816)

    Is the patent involved here a good patent? (i.e. a legit invention that deserves patent protection)

    Or is this one of those vague/broad patents that pop up so often in the tech world?

    • Look it up on previous slashdot stories. We've covered this extensively. Yes it was a good patent, must have been given that an army of the world's best paid lawyers weren't able to convince a court otherwise.

    • https://apple.slashdot.org/sto... [slashdot.org]
      They poached a bunch of Masimo employees, and the owner of Masimo decided that settling out of Court was a bad idea that would just lead to further problems down the line.
      The patent itself is NOT discussed in any of the upvoted comments, which means there is actually nothing of value in that article outside of the poaching.

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