Latest news with #AppleWatchSeries9
India.com
2 minutes ago
- India.com
Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Feature: Tech Giant Restores With iOS 18.6.1, WatchOS 11.6.1 Update; Heres How Users Can Access It
Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Update: Apple is bringing back a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature with workaround on some of its latest Apple Watch models in the US. The watch models include Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users. This feature will be introduced through iPhone and Apple Watch software. The feature was removed for months because of a patent dispute. Now, Apple has found a workaround and is restoring it through the new iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 updates. Apple's decision to release the update follows a fresh US Customs ruling that allows the company to import watches with a redesigned version of the technology. Apple's Blood Oxygen Feature; How Users Can Access It In the US, users of these Apple Watch models who don't currently have the Blood Oxygen feature can get the redesigned version by updating their iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. Apple's Blood Oxygen Feature: How It Works With the update, the Blood Oxygen app on Apple Watch will send data to the paired iPhone for processing, and results will appear in the Health app under the Respiratory section. This change follows a US Customs ruling. In short, Apple Watch users can measure blood oxygen on their watch again, but the results will show up on the iPhone. Apple Watches already sold with the original feature, or those bought outside the US, won't be affected. Apple's Blood Oxygen Feature Banned In 2023 Apple's blood oxygen feature, removed in late 2023 after a patent dispute with Masimo Corp. and a US Customs ban, is now returning for Apple Watch models where it was disabled. The comeback follows a Customs ruling. Adding further, Apple is also expected to launch new Apple Watch models with the iPhone 17, again highlighting blood oxygen tracking along with health tools like heart rate monitoring.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Blood Oxygen Feature Makes A Comeback On Apple Watch In The U.S.
More than a year and a half after Apple had to briefly halt Apple Watch sales and then remove the blood oxygen feature from the Apple Watch Series 9 and newer devices, the company announced a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature is being added to the models sold in the U.S. According to a press release, Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 sold in the U.S. will get a software update coming later today with this update. Apple explains: "Users with these models in the U.S. who currently do not have the Blood Oxygen feature will have access to the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature by updating their paired iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and their Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. Following this update, sensor data from the Blood Oxygen app on Apple Watch will be measured and calculated on the paired iPhone, and results can be viewed in the Respiratory section of the Health app. This update was enabled by a recent U.S. Customs ruling." Apple says that nothing is changing for Apple Watch models purchased outside of the U.S. or those that include the original Blood Oxygen feature. Read more: 7 Under-The-Radar Apple Watch Features You Should Be Using Blood Oxygen's Return To Apple Watch Opens The Path For New Technologies In the press release the company says its teams "work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features that are grounded in science and have privacy at the core." While Apple will make sure the experience of using the blood oxygen feature remains faithful to the one available globally, it's going to be interesting to see the company offering two different possibilities for this function. That said, even though the company is still fighting Masimo and appealing the patent infringement decision made in 2023, this update opens the path for upcoming features, including the long-rumored blood pressure monitoring, which is expected to debut next month with the Apple Watch Series 11. BGR will let you know once the company releases iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 to iPhone and Apple Watch users re-enabling this feature to eligible Apple Watch users. Read the original article on BGR.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Apple to bring blood oxygen feature to some US watches with software update
By Stephen Nellis SAN FRANCISCO: Apple will bring a blood oxygen measurement feature to some of its watch models via a software update after receiving approval from the U.S. government amid a protracted legal dispute over the technology, it said on Thursday. The move will allow users of Apple Watch Series 9 , Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States to view their blood oxygen levels on a paired iPhone. It comes after years of legal wrangling with Irvine, California-based Masimo, which has accused Apple of hiring its employees and stealing its pulse oximetry technology after discussing a potential collaboration. Masimo won a ruling at the U.S. International Trade Commission to block imports of watches with the feature, which prompted Apple to remove the feature and set off a lengthy appeals process. The watch models affected Thursday did not have the blood oxygen feature when shipped, but Apple said U.S. Customs had approved the software update. With the update, a user can start a session in the blood oxygen app on Apple Watch, and the Apple Watch sensors will collect data that will be used by the iPhone to calculate and display the levels, Apple said. Apple first introduced pulse oximetry in its Series 6 Apple Watches in 2020. Masimo released its blood oxygen tracking W1 watch in 2022. Masimo convinced the ITC to block imports of Apple's Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in 2023, based on the commission's determination that Apple's technology for reading blood oxygen levels infringed upon Masimo's patents. Apple temporarily resumed sales of the watches the next day after persuading the Federal Circuit to pause the ban. The Federal Circuit reinstated the ban the next month, leading Apple to remove pulse oximetry capabilities from its watches in the United States. Masimo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mint
2 days ago
- Health
- Mint
Apple brings back Blood Oxygen feature to Apple Watch, but there's a catch
Apple on Thursday announced that is bringing a redesigned Oxygen tracking feature to Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users in the United States. Notably, the tech giant had been banned from importing Apple Watches with that feature by an International Trade Commission ruling in early 2024 and it is now bypassing it with a clever workaround. The Cupertino based tech giant will calculate and measure the blood oxygen data on the iPhone that the Apple Watch is paired to and users won't be able to view this data on their wrist. In order to check their blood oxygen levels, users will have to navigate to th Respiratory section under the iPhone's Health app. In its announcement, Apple says that a recent US customs ruling has ensured that it can import Apple waches with the new Blood oxygen feature. In order to get the new feature, Series 9, 10 and Ultra users will have to update their iPhones and Apple watch to iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 respectively. The new blood oxygen feature redesign only impacts the Apple Watches sold in the US after 17th January, 2024 when the ITC ban took full effect. Any previously sold Apple Watches in the US or the units bought anywhere else in the world continue to have the original blood oxygen feature.
NBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- NBC News
Apple Watch getting redesigned blood oxygen feature following legal dispute
Apple on Thursday announced a redesigned blood oxygen feature for some Apple Watch users, following a yearslong intellectual property dispute over the capability. Apple said the redesigned feature is coming to some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users on Thursday. The update was possible because of a recent U.S. Customs ruling, the company said. In 2023, the International Trade Commission found that Apple's blood oxygen sensors infringed on intellectual property from Masimo, a medical technology company. Apple paused the sale of some of its watches and began selling modified versions of the wearables without the blood oxygen feature. 'Apple's teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features that are grounded in science and have privacy at the core,' the company said in a release announcing the feature rollout. CNBC has reached out to Masimo for comment. Users who do not currently have the feature will be able to access it by updating their iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and their Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1, Apple said. Users will be able to see their results in the Respiratory section of the Health app. Apple has been pushing deeper into health care in recent years. The company recently released a sleep apnea detection feature for Apple Watch users and hearing health features for its AirPods headphones. In February, Apple launched its first major health study in five years.
