How Apple is informing customers about the modified Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2

Apple has updated its online store to denote the modification required to avoid another import ban on Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. Thanks to ongoing litigation with Masimo, Apple has disabled the blood oxygen sensor functionality on new Apple Watch S9 and U2 models sold in the US from today.

So what is Apple doing to keep Apple Watch shoppers updated on the latest twists and turns?

After briefly pulling affected models from its online and retail stores in December and resuming sales through a short term legal win, Apple has added a new banner to the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 product pages.

“Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 no longer include the Blood Oxygen feature,” reads the banner applied to the checkout flow for both model watches.

As we mentioned today, it’s actually possible to know if an Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2 has blood oxygen level sensing enabled or disabled. Checking the model number for the specific watch you’re buying will reveal which batch of hardware it belongs to, the original or the modified hardware.

For the near future, the modification of disabling blood oxygen detection functionality will keep Apple Watch imports into the US as close to business-as-usual as possible. That gives Apple and Masimo time to battle it out through the legal system. Alternatively, Apple could decide enough is enough and some cash should be exchanged for licensing what Masimo claims is their patent.

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