When will blood oxygen monitoring finally return to the Apple Watch?

At the end of 2023, Apple had to briefly stop selling Apple Watch Series 9 in the US due to a legal battle with Massimo. At the time, the US International Trade Commission ruled that Apple infringed two of Masimo’s blood oxygen patents. This decision was sent to Biden’s Administration for the Presidential Review Period, which expired on Christmas.

With Biden deciding not to revoke the ITC’s decision, Apple had to stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. Then, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit paused the import ban, considering Apple’s request to continue selling the smartwatches during the appeal process. By mid-January, however, the court officially denied Apple’s request. As a result, Apple Watch models with blood oxygen features were once again banned as of January 18, 2024. Apple continued to sell its latest Apple Watch models, but pulse oximetry has been disabled in the US.

Now, more than a year later, the company still hasn't announced when new Apple Watch models might get blood oxygen monitoring again.

Is blood oxygen monitoring that important to Apple Watch?

Introduced with the Apple Watch Series 6, the blood oxygen feature quickly became a key tool for users, especially during the pandemic. Unlike the FDA-approved ECG functionality, Apple always positioned the blood oxygen sensor as “good-to-know information,” emphasizing that it wasn’t intended to replace professional medical testing.

Still, it remains an important metric for fitness enthusiasts. For example, in the Gentler Streak app, my blood oxygen data, combined with sleep tracking, helps generate a daily readiness score, letting me know whether my body is primed for a workout. Blood oxygen levels play a crucial role in shaping this analysis.

However, a year after Apple was forced to disable this feature for new Apple Watch users, questions persist about when or even if it might return. In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple has decided not to pursue further legal action or reinstate the blood oxygen feature for now.

"The company often touts itself as a health-care leader and tries to position its smartwatch as a medical lab on your wrist," he wrote. "But blood oxygen is an important metric for many people, and its omission from US devices is hard to ignore. Apple, the world’s most valuable company, has the money to settle the suit or rebuild the feature in a way that dances around Masimo’s patents. It has chosen, so far, to do neither. The situation doesn’t affect consumers who bought Apple Watches before the feature was banned, but that just means current customers might be less willing to upgrade."

When can we realistically expect pulse oximetry to come back?

If Apple prefers not to buy the patents or create new tech in the coming years, the company won't be able to start offering blood oxygen monitoring to Apple Watch users in the US before August 2028. So, unless Apple finds a way to develop a blood oxygen sensor that doesn’t infringe the patent in question, the functionality might not be back until the company unveils the Apple Watch Series 14.

By that time, we hope Apple has already started to roll out several other health features, including long-rumored support for blood pressure readings.

The post When will blood oxygen monitoring finally return to the Apple Watch? appeared first on BGR.

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When will blood oxygen monitoring finally return to the Apple Watch? originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 28 Apr 2025 at 09:49:11 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.