On November 15th, tech media 9to5Mac published a blog post yesterday (November 14th), reporting that the blood oxygen function of Apple Watch is once again facing review by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) due to a patent dispute with health technology company Masimo.
Due to a patent dispute, Apple went through an 18 month “painful period” and its Apple Watch sold in the United States was forced to ban the inclusion of blood oxygen detection function. However, in August 2025, Apple relaunched the blood oxygen detection function for the Apple Watch in the US market, with the core being the separation of data collection and display.
IT Home Note: Users still start the detection through the blood oxygen app on the Apple Watch, and the built-in sensor on the watch is responsible for collecting data. But the key difference is that the test results will not be directly displayed on the watch screen. Users must open the “Health” app in the paired iPhone and view the relevant data in the “Breathing” section. Apple hopes to legally separate the functionality of the watch from patent disputes through this approach.
However, this “curve saving” plan is now facing another challenge, as the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has announced the launch of a new merger modification and enforcement procedure to examine whether Apple’s new plan still falls within the scope of Masimo’s patent restrictions.
The core of this review is that ITC believes that the “redesigned” version of the watch currently sold by Apple was not included in the initial investigation scope, and the situation has changed, so it is necessary to restart the evaluation.
The sole focus of the review will be to determine whether the new blood oxygen function should be included in the initial import ban. The program not only evaluates the independent features of the Apple Watch, but also delves into whether the two working together when paired with an iPhone will trigger Masimo’s claimed patented technology.
The US International Trade Commission stated that a decision is expected to be made within six months.
In the face of Masimo’s appeal, an Apple spokesperson strongly opposes it. Apple stated in its submission to the ITC that Masimo attempted to pressure the committee to exceed its legal authority and prevent millions of Americans from using Apple’s redesigned blood oxygen function.
Apple also emphasized that Masimo does not have any viable domestic industrial products that can benefit from the ban, and the Masimo W1 watch used to initiate the lawsuit has not been sold on a large scale two years after the investigation ended, and has now stopped selling to consumers.
Apple further alleges that Masimo’s latest legal action once again proves that it has been abusing the power of the commission to exclude important consumer products from the market in order to “protect” a non-existent domestic industry.
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