Apple is temporarily halting sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the US. Online sales will stop from December 21, while retail locations will stop selling these watches after December 24. This decision follows a patent dispute ruling that stops the sales and imports of infringing Apple Watches. There is no clarity on when the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 will resume sales in the US.
In a surprising move, Apple has just announced that it will suspend the sale of the new Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the US later this week. The decision comes after a patent dispute around the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen sensor technology.
According to a statement from Apple, a Presidential Review Period is currently underway regarding an order from the US International Trade Commission on a technical intellectual property dispute related to Apple Watch devices containing the Blood Oxygen feature. While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand. This includes pausing sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Apple.com starting December 21, and from Apple retail locations after December 24.
Apple disagrees strongly with the order and is pursuing legal and technical options to ensure that the Apple Watch is available to customers. However, if the order stands, Apple will take measures to return the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the U.S. as soon as possible.
The decision to halt sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the US follows a ruling from the US International Trade Commission in October, which stated that Apple had infringed on two patents of medical technology company Masimo, both related to the light-based pulse oximeter feature.
For now, customers still have a few days to purchase these watches from third-party outlets like Amazon and Best Buy until stock runs out. After that, Apple cannot import more units if the ruling remains operational.