The Apple Watch ban is over … kind of

By Joe Maring December 27, 2023

The Apple Watch Series 9 showing apps on the screen. — Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The sales ban on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, which caused Apple to stop selling the two smartwatches late last week, has already been lifted — for now.

On December 27, the U.S. Court of Appeals temporarily lifted the sales and import ban on the two Apple Watch models. Apple stopped selling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 from its online stores on December 21 and pulled the watches from its physical retail locations on December 24.

With this latest ruling, Apple is now legally allowed to sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 as normal. However, that’s only true until January 10, when the temporary lift expires. It’s good news for Apple that it can continue selling its two latest Apple Watch models during the ongoing holiday season, but the legal battle is far from over.

Apple was struck with this sales ban after a judge ruled Apple had infringed on patents from the medical technology company Masimo, specifically regarding patents used for blood oxygen sensing on Apple Watches. In addition to the ban being temporarily halted, 9to5Mac reports that Apple has created a software update for the Series 9 and Ultra 2, which should resolve the patent disputes.

The International Trade Commission now needs to respond by the January 10 deadline. Whether or not the software update from Apple is enough remains to be seen, but we should know more by that date.

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Joe Maring is the Section Editor for Digital Trends' Mobile team, leading the site's coverage for all things smartphones…

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