Online Sales Resuming: Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Available Again from Thursday
Apple announced its swift decision to reintroduce its latest smartwatch models to its US retail stores on Wednesday following a favorable court ruling in a patent dispute. This quick action aimed to swiftly reinstate its substantial $17 billion (approximately Rs. 1,41,461 crore) business.
In addition to the physical stores, the company confirmed that the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 would be available for online purchase starting Thursday, scheduled to go live by noon Pacific time. The US International Trade Commission had imposed a ban on these products’ import and sales through Apple’s official channels following a patent infringement case victory for Masimo, a medical device manufacturer. However, an appellate court in Washington issued a temporary stay of the ITC’s decision earlier on Wednesday as Apple pursues its appeal to overturn the ruling.
A spokeswoman for Apple expressed satisfaction with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision to temporarily halt the exclusion order. The statement highlighted Apple’s continuous efforts spanning numerous years, focusing on developing cutting-edge technology that enhances user experiences through leading health, wellness, and safety features.
The watches will be back on shelves beginning Wednesday at some of Apple’s about 270 retail locations across the country, with wider availability by Saturday, the company said.
Apple was forced to stop sales of one of its signature products after the ITC found the company infringed a pair of Masimo patents related to measuring blood-oxygen saturation. Apple pulled the watches from its website on December 21 and in retail stores on Christmas Eve.
The ITC announced the sales and import ban in October, but the White House had 60 days to review it and potentially veto it. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Tuesday she wouldn’t intervene and the White House refused to veto the measure.
Apple also has developed a software update for the Apple Watch that it believes will mitigate the issue. It submitted the design of that update to the US customs agency and said the government is scheduled to decide January 12 whether to approve the changes.
The appellate court in Washington gave the ITC until January 10 to respond to Apple’s request for a longer stay during the company’s full appeal. A spokesperson for Irvine, California-based Masimo declined to comment on Wednesday’s court ruling. Masimo’s shares fell 4.6 percent to $115.11 (roughly Rs. 9,580) at the close in New York after the court temporarily ended the ban on watch sales. Apple’s stock was little changed.
The ITC had argued against the interim stay of its order, saying in a Tuesday court filing that Apple didn’t face “irreparable harm” during its appeal because sales of some watch models continued.
“The Commission’s remedial orders do not affect all Apple Watch products, but only those that include a light-based pulse oximetry feature, i.e., a feature for measuring the oxygen level in the blood,” the ITC said.
Masimo is also seeking to intervene in the appeals case. The company said in a separate filing on Tuesday that Apple’s emergency request for an interim stay should be denied “because there is no emergency.”
Masimo contended that Apple had misled the court regarding the ongoing situation, asserting, “Apple fails to disclose the cessation of sales for the infringing Apple Watches specified in the contested ITC orders.”
Apple, on the other hand, had contested the ITC’s ruling, asserting its disagreement with the decision and expressing its commitment to taking necessary steps to reintroduce the watches into the US market. The ban posed an inconvenience for users of Apple Watch Series 6, 7, and 8, particularly concerning the blood-oxygen feature, as out-of-warranty watches were ineligible for hardware repairs throughout the ban’s duration.