Wear OS smartwatches no longer have this leg up over the Apple Watch
TL;DR Apple is restoring blood oxygen tracking to certain US Apple Watch models via iOS and watchOS updates.
The refreshed setup uses the watch to take readings but calculates and displays results on the paired iPhone.
The feature was removed in January 2024 due to a patent dispute and an import ban.
Apple Watch owners in the US are getting a health-tracking feature back that many thought might be gone for good. After more than a year in limbo, the blood oxygen tool is returning to the Apple smartwatch range, though not quite in the way you remember.
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As Bloomberg reports, the reactivation follows a US Customs ruling and arrives as part of iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1. If you've got a Series 9, Series 10, or Ultra 2 model that shipped without the feature, the update lets the watch's sensors take the reading but shifts the number-crunching to your paired iPhone. You'll find the results tucked into the Respiratory section of the Health app instead of the watch's own Blood Oxygen app.
Apple removed the feature from new Series 9 and Ultra 2 units sold in the US from January 18, 2024, after the US Court of Appeals allowed an import ban tied to a patent dispute with Masimo Corp. to take effect. The hardware sensor never went away, but the software was locked down, and Apple warned at the time that the legal process could drag on for a year or more.
By moving part of the process off the watch, Apple has found a way to bring the readings back without breaking the rules. The update is rolling out now, just weeks before the expected debut of the Apple Watch Series 11 alongside the iPhone 17.
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