Apple Watch Band: Apple Officially Stopping Sales in US Due to Patent Dispute

It is true that this is not some fear-mongering video, but rather an official announcement from Apple. The company has officially stated that it will stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the US, both of which feature a blood oxygen sensor.

As of 12:00 p.m. Pacific time on December 21st, these devices will no longer be available for purchase, and they will be removed from retail stores starting on December 24th. This decision comes after the International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a ruling that would enforce a ban on importing or selling any Apple Watch models that use the blood pulse oximeter.

The ITC's decision was made in response to a patent dispute between Apple and medical company Mimo, which claims that Apple stole some of its trade secrets and violated its patents related to the blood pulse oximeter. The district court trial ended in a mistrial, but the ITC signed with Mimo in January, leading to this pending ban.

The ruling would prevent Apple from importing or selling any Apple Watch models that presumably use the stolen or copied technology. However, it's worth noting that the Apple Watch SE does not use this feature, so it is not affected by this ban.

For consumers, this means that if they already have an Apple Watch, they are fine, as these devices will still be available for purchase and use. However, for those who want to buy a new Apple watch, they will not be able to do so, at least until the ban is lifted.

As for what Apple can do about it, there are several options. Firstly, Apple could appeal the decision and request a stay on the import ban until this is reviewed by the White House. This is likely to happen, as Apple has already maintained that it was in the right and did not steal any technology from Mimo.

Alternatively, Apple could change how the pulse oximeter works in its devices through software updates. This would avoid infringing on Mimo's patents and potentially resolve the dispute without paying a licensing fee.

Another option for Apple is to remove the feature completely from its watches. While this would be a hit to consumers who want the blood oxygen sensor, it would still allow them to purchase and use the device.

Finally, Apple could work with Mimo to license its patent on the Apple watch. However, given that Apple has maintained it did not steal any technology, this option is less likely.

The future of the Apple Watch in the US remains uncertain, at least for the short term. This situation is reminiscent of a similar dispute between Apple and Samsung several years ago, where the Obama administration intervened to prevent a ban on iPhone sales in the US. It's possible that a similar outcome could occur here, but for now, the ITC's ruling stands.

The 60-day review by the White House is set to coincide with Christmas Day, which may provide some temporary relief for consumers who want to purchase an Apple Watch. However, it's unclear what will happen next, and only time will tell how this dispute will be resolved.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ensoon you're not going to be able to buy an Apple Watch in the US welcome everybody Welcome to Apple Insider it is Andrew here and soon apple is about to face an import ban on the Apple watch starting off later this year Apple's going to be unable to sell the latest versions of Apple watch here Stateside this is everything that you need to know about the impending Apple watch band so it's it's true this is not some fear-mongering video that Apple May potentially face an Apple watch band it's official it's been made official as much as it can be to this point with apple officially saying that it will stop selling the Apple Watch series 9 and the Apple watch Ultra 2 here in the us both the Apple Watch series 9 and the Apple watch Ultra 2 will be no longer for sale starting at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time on December 21st and they'll be removed from retail stores starting on December 24th so what's going on why has the Apple watch been banned here in the United States and what can apple do about it well this all stems from a patent dispute covering the blood oxygen sensor found in the Apple watch medical company Mimo Mimo Mass Mo either way they filed suit against Apple in US District Court back in 2020 claiming that apple had stolen some of its Trade Secrets and violated its patents all relating to the blood pulse oximeter found in the Apple watch the district court trial did end in a mistrial but the ITC International Trade Commission did sign with mimo back in January which has led us to this pending ban on October 26 ITC issued its ruling that would enforce this ban after 60 days review by the White House and this ban would prevent Apple from importing or selling any Apple watch models that presumably had stolen or used this patent or functionality in that case it would be the Apple Watch series 6 or later but right now Apple only sells the Apple Watch series 9 and the Apple watch Ultra 2 that use the pulse oximeter the Apple watch SE does not use the pimer so it is not affected by this ban so what does this mean for consumers well if you already have an Apple Watch you're fine you're totally cool they're not taking these away from you these are still legal by the ITC ruling so you're fine there but if you have not bought an Apple Watch yet you just won't be able to buy one you're going to have to buy an Apple Watch SE or wait for this ban to be lifted which could be a big blow to anybody who is hoping to buy a new Apple watch after this band goes into effect so what can apple do about all this well it realistically has four different options first it's going to appeal this is basically uh guaranteed if this band goes into effect Apple will appeal this and they'll likely say oh there should be a stay on the import ban uh until this is reviewed all of that stuff uh that's number one the second thing that Apple can do is change how the pulse oximeter works it could issue a software update that would change how the pulse oximeter works that would not be infringing of the mimo patents that it has supposedly had stolen so that is option number two option number three would be to remove the feature completely from Apple watch so this would be kind of a hit to Consumers because it would literally remove this from new versions of the Apple watch that just you know would still be available at that point but they wouldn't have the pulse oximeter feature which would of course suck for anyone who really wanted it or needed it lastly Apple could work with mimo to license its patent on the Apple watch now of course if Apple wanted to do this it could have done so already but throughout this whole thing Apple has maintained that it was in the right it did not steal anything and it should not have to pay to license these patents but now that this ban is going into effect and the ITC has ruled against Apple uh it's it's more likely that Apple may just end up shelling out a bunch of money to allow the Apple watch to continue to be sold but the fact that apple was already saying hey we're going to pull these off the store shelves uh pending the White House review it's a little uncertain what the future remains for Apple watch here in the short term this isn't the first time that Apple has been in this predicament a few years back Apple was actually involved with legal suits with Samsung where Apple was found to have infringed on Samsung patents and they were actually set to ban iPhone sales in the US but at the last minute the Obama adist Administration stepped in and veto this ruling uh which is what could happen here as well this could all just be prevented and and mean nothing but right now we're still just waiting for that 60-day review to end from the Biden Administration which would happen to coincide basically with Christmas day so what do you guys think what do you think Apple should do drop me a line down below in the comments and let me know your thoughts or you can find me on Twitter at Andrew U on threads androar 941 uh otherwise let me know and I'll see you guys in the next videosoon you're not going to be able to buy an Apple Watch in the US welcome everybody Welcome to Apple Insider it is Andrew here and soon apple is about to face an import ban on the Apple watch starting off later this year Apple's going to be unable to sell the latest versions of Apple watch here Stateside this is everything that you need to know about the impending Apple watch band so it's it's true this is not some fear-mongering video that Apple May potentially face an Apple watch band it's official it's been made official as much as it can be to this point with apple officially saying that it will stop selling the Apple Watch series 9 and the Apple watch Ultra 2 here in the us both the Apple Watch series 9 and the Apple watch Ultra 2 will be no longer for sale starting at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time on December 21st and they'll be removed from retail stores starting on December 24th so what's going on why has the Apple watch been banned here in the United States and what can apple do about it well this all stems from a patent dispute covering the blood oxygen sensor found in the Apple watch medical company Mimo Mimo Mass Mo either way they filed suit against Apple in US District Court back in 2020 claiming that apple had stolen some of its Trade Secrets and violated its patents all relating to the blood pulse oximeter found in the Apple watch the district court trial did end in a mistrial but the ITC International Trade Commission did sign with mimo back in January which has led us to this pending ban on October 26 ITC issued its ruling that would enforce this ban after 60 days review by the White House and this ban would prevent Apple from importing or selling any Apple watch models that presumably had stolen or used this patent or functionality in that case it would be the Apple Watch series 6 or later but right now Apple only sells the Apple Watch series 9 and the Apple watch Ultra 2 that use the pulse oximeter the Apple watch SE does not use the pimer so it is not affected by this ban so what does this mean for consumers well if you already have an Apple Watch you're fine you're totally cool they're not taking these away from you these are still legal by the ITC ruling so you're fine there but if you have not bought an Apple Watch yet you just won't be able to buy one you're going to have to buy an Apple Watch SE or wait for this ban to be lifted which could be a big blow to anybody who is hoping to buy a new Apple watch after this band goes into effect so what can apple do about all this well it realistically has four different options first it's going to appeal this is basically uh guaranteed if this band goes into effect Apple will appeal this and they'll likely say oh there should be a stay on the import ban uh until this is reviewed all of that stuff uh that's number one the second thing that Apple can do is change how the pulse oximeter works it could issue a software update that would change how the pulse oximeter works that would not be infringing of the mimo patents that it has supposedly had stolen so that is option number two option number three would be to remove the feature completely from Apple watch so this would be kind of a hit to Consumers because it would literally remove this from new versions of the Apple watch that just you know would still be available at that point but they wouldn't have the pulse oximeter feature which would of course suck for anyone who really wanted it or needed it lastly Apple could work with mimo to license its patent on the Apple watch now of course if Apple wanted to do this it could have done so already but throughout this whole thing Apple has maintained that it was in the right it did not steal anything and it should not have to pay to license these patents but now that this ban is going into effect and the ITC has ruled against Apple uh it's it's more likely that Apple may just end up shelling out a bunch of money to allow the Apple watch to continue to be sold but the fact that apple was already saying hey we're going to pull these off the store shelves uh pending the White House review it's a little uncertain what the future remains for Apple watch here in the short term this isn't the first time that Apple has been in this predicament a few years back Apple was actually involved with legal suits with Samsung where Apple was found to have infringed on Samsung patents and they were actually set to ban iPhone sales in the US but at the last minute the Obama adist Administration stepped in and veto this ruling uh which is what could happen here as well this could all just be prevented and and mean nothing but right now we're still just waiting for that 60-day review to end from the Biden Administration which would happen to coincide basically with Christmas day so what do you guys think what do you think Apple should do drop me a line down below in the comments and let me know your thoughts or you can find me on Twitter at Andrew U on threads androar 941 uh otherwise let me know and I'll see you guys in the next video\n"