Latest news with #Masimo
Forbes
an hour ago
- Health
- Forbes
Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Tracking Returns For Series 9 And Later: What's New And How To Use It
Apple just brought blood oxygen tracking back to millions of Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2 models, missing since early 2024, when Apple removed it. Here's what's happened, how the new app is different, and how to use it. The option to monitor your blood oxygen was big news when it arrived on Apple Watch Series 7 in 2021. However, medical equipment manufacturer Masimo sued Apple in a patent dispute and in late 2023, Apple removed Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches from store shelves in the U.S. to comply with the dispute. They later returned with the app removed in early 2024 — though the hardware sensors remained unchanged. Since the dispute only affected watches imported into the U.S., all models sold elsewhere in the world continued to have the feature, including on Series 10 models. Apple released software updates on Aug. 14 which brought the app back in modified form to all affected models. Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Tracking: The New Experience Once you've updated your Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 to the new watchOS 11.6.1 release and, crucially, your iPhone to iOS 18.6.1, you'll find the Blood Oxygen app is back, with the same app icon and instructions on how to use as before. It's straightforward: sit upright with the watch resting flat and sit quietly for 15 seconds. An engaging animation will count you down. So far, so identical. But where on models sold outside the U.S. the 15 seconds end with a chirp and a screen showing your blood oxygen percentage, now you're guided to discover the result on your iPhone. It's in the Health app there, in the Respiratory section. It shows your range of results across your chosen interval and explanations of what the metric means. Again, this looks just like it always did in the Health app. Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Tracking: What's Different The new system takes raw data recorded on the Apple Watch and the calculation and expression of it is now done on the iPhone instead. This is the workaround that allowed Apple to bring the feature back. Since the removal of the app on Series 9 and Ultra 2 began less than four months after they went on sale, millions of users for these watches and the newer Series 10 will now have access to a key health metric for the first time.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Monitoring Is Back: Here's How to Get It
If you own a recent Apple Watch, you'll soon regain access to blood oxygen monitoring. Later today, owners of the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 will be able to download an update that revives the feature. On your iPhone, open the Watch app, tap General > Software Update, and look for watchOS 11.6.1. Also, go to Settings > General > Software Update and look for iOS 18.6.1. Once you've updated, check out our full rundown on what it can do and how to use it. In late 2023, sales of two Apple Watch models with blood oxygen monitoring were suspended after Apple lost a patent dispute. Masimo, a medical tech company, holds a patent describing hardware that measures bloody oxygen. It accused Apple of poaching Masimo employees to help develop its own blood oxygen sensors for the Apple Watch. Masimo sued in district court before bringing the issue to the International Trade Commission (ITC), which ruled in Masimo's favor. Apple issued a software update to turn the feature off and restart sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2. By the time the Series 10 debuted last year, the dispute was still going on, so that smartwatch did not include the blood oxygen feature. Apple says it redesigned its blood oxygen feature, and that today's launch "was enabled by a recent US Customs ruling." Apple says this doesn't affect older iPhones with the original blood oxygen feature or Apple Watches purchased outside the US. This new update will allow you to start a Blood Oxygen monitoring session on the Apple Watch, and the data will sync with your iPhone. The Respiratory section within the Apple Health app will provide a full breakdown of the results.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
iOS 18.6.1 Is Here! Should You Install the Update Right Away?
Apple has released the iPhone update to iOS 18.6.1. Along with watchOS 11.6, it includes important changes for users in the U.S. TECHBOOK explains whether the installation is worthwhile in other countries as well. Blood Oxygen Monitoring Returns to Apple Watch In the U.S., Apple had to disable blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring in 2023 due to a patent dispute and even briefly pull the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 from sale. The health technology company Masimo filed the lawsuit, claiming its pulse oximetry patents were infringed. According to Apple, 'a recent decision by the U.S. Customs Authority' allows the SpO2 monitoring to return to the Apple Watch. The company now circumvents Masimo's technology by ensuring the processing of measurement data no longer occurs locally. The Apple Watch still measures the raw data, but the integration into the SpO2 percentage display happens only in the Health app on the iPhone. After the measurement, the Watch refers users to the iPhone to view the results. Countries outside the U.S. were and are not affected by this. Here, the processing of measurement data continues locally on the Apple Watch itself. Users can read the results directly from the smartwatch without needing to open the Health app. Is Installing iOS 18.6.1 Worth It? iOS 18.6.1 does not include any new features or bug fixes. Issues like the dimming of the home screen background after unlocking still occur for some users. This error is already fixed in the beta version of iOS 26. Although iOS 18.6.1 is listed on Apple's support page for security updates, there are no entries for any patches. Instead of a link to the content, it simply states, 'This update contains no published CVE entries.' It is quite possible that iOS 18.6.1 includes bug fixes and security changes. However, since Apple apparently does not deem it necessary to specify them, they are likely not of great significance. TECHBOOK therefore considers the update not necessarily essential—at least for users outside the U.S. The post iOS 18.6.1 Is Here! Should You Install the Update Right Away? appeared first on TECHBOOK.
United News of India
a day ago
- Health
- United News of India
Apple watch gets redesigned blood oxygen detection tech with pairing system
New Delhi, Aug 16 (UNI) Apple revealed a redesigned feature in its Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 related to blood oxygen detection, as per the company's statement. The official statement on Apple's website said, 'Apple will introduce a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users through an iPhone and Apple Watch software update.' ' Users with these models in the US 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,' the official statement added. Moreover, Apple Watch's oxygen monitoring feature was controversial in the past, as a medical technology company named 'Masimo' sued Apple for infringing its patents related to blood-oxygen sensing technology. After that, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) banned the import of certain Apple watches with this blood oxygen monitoring feature in 2023. Now, the tech giant is again coming with the new feature, as the US customs ruling gives a green signal to a redesigned technology that processes raw sensor data on the iPhone instead of the Watch. The official statement on Apple's website also noted the crux of the redesigned feature: ' Following this update, sensor data from the Blood Oxygen app on Apple Watch will be measured and calculated on the paired iPhone, and the results can be viewed in the Respiratory section of the Health App.' ' There will be no impact to Apple Watch units previously purchased that include the original Blood Oxygen feature, nor to Apple Watch units purchased outside of the US,' the statement added. UNI SAS ARN
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Apple Adds Redesigned Blood Oxygen Feature After Legal Dispute
After a long legal battle over intellectual property with medical technology startup Masimo, Apple (AAPL, Financials) started rolling out a new blood oxygen capability to some Apple Watch customers on Thursday. The company noted that a recent ruling by U.S. Customs made the upgrade possible for Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 devices. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with NVDA. In 2023, the International Trade Commission ruled that Apple's blood oxygen sensors violated Masimo's patents. As a result, the business stopped selling some models and sold modified versions without the feature. Apple claimed that consumers who don't have the feature yet can get it by updating their iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and their Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. The Health app's Respiratory section will show the results. In the last several years, the business has added more health-related functions, such sleep apnea monitoring for the Apple Watch and hearing health features for the AirPods. Apple started its first big health research in five years in February. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
