Anticipated Tech Trends Shaping 2024 Apple Resumes Sales of Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the United States
The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are now back in stock at Apple Stores in the US, and availability is set to expand by Saturday.
Apple said Wednesday that it will immediately resume in-store US sales of its latest smartwatches, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Ultra 2, after pausing the sales as the result of a patent dispute.
“We are thrilled to return the full Apple Watch lineup to customers in time for the new year,” the company said in a statement. Apple has resumed selling both the Watch Series 9 and the Ultra 2 on its website Thursday.
The announcement comes after a US appeals court temporarily lifted an import ban on those Apple Watch models as it assesses Apple’s request to suspend the ban while a patent dispute winds its way through the legal system. Apple says the US appeals court will hear the company’s motion for a stay as early as Jan. 15.
Read more: Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Ban: The Latest and What You Need to Know
Earlier this week, Apple was forced to stop US sales and imports of the watches, some of its most lucrative consumer products, because of an ongoing legal battle with health tech company Masimo. The dispute centers on a blood oxygen detection feature in those watches.
Soon after the ban took effect, Apple filed an emergency appeal saying the company would suffer “irreparable harm” if the ban, which was imposed by the International Trade Commission, stayed in place. The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are the company’s newest and most advanced smartwatches, launched this year.
Apple took a proactive measure by temporarily halting online and in-store sales of the watches in anticipation of the US sales and import ban. Despite Monday’s decision by the White House not to overturn the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling supporting a judge’s decision that Apple had infringed on Masimo’s patents in its blood oxygen sensing system, Apple is exploring legal and technical avenues to continue selling the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2.
As part of its efforts, Apple has submitted a proposed redesign for approval by US Customs, and the company is actively pursuing various legal and technical options to address the situation.
