Sale of Some Apple Watches Banned in Maine, Massachusetts

Over the last few decades, we have seen so many technological inventions.  Some of the items that we use every day in 2023 are more advanced than what 1980s science fiction writers were predicting we’d have in the 2020s.  Smartphones, tablets, social media, Microsoft Teams, and smartwatches.

Of all of the technology that we frequently carry around with us, one of the most-useful items is the smartwatch.  Depending on the model, these watches can be used as a phone, a screen for checking your text & social media messages, a voice memo recorder, and a fitness tracker.

They can even save your life.  Many smart watch models are set up to detect a fall or a motor vehicle crash.  If the feature is activated, and a g-force sensor detects a crash or fall, the watch will ask the user if they are okay.  If the user fails to acknowledge the watch’s query, the watch will alert first responders.

Now, it appears that several very popular Apple Watch models are no longer available in the United States.  According to Yahoo! Finance, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 are no longer available in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and the rest of the United States because of an on-going patent dispute with tech giant Masimo.

The dispute includes the inclusion of an oxygen sensor on those particular watch models.  In October, the International Trade Commission sent Apple a cease-and-desist order and a limited exclusion order.  Those orders force the tech giant to stop importing those particular smartwatches and to stop selling them through its first-party stores after a presidential review period.  That period reportedly ends on December 25th.

Of course, there is still a chance that President Biden may veto that order.

Apple, however, is taking no chances.

On December 21^st, Apple stopped selling those particular watches on their website.  The article explains that the specific website pages for those products are currently unavailable.  Brick and mortar Apple stores will continue to sell those watches through Christmas Eve.

There is some good news for people who really want those styles of Apple Watch.  The article does go on to say that some third-party stores, like Best Buy, will continue to sell those particular watches.  Assuming, that is, that they can get the product.

Apple can continue to sell the Apple Watch SE because it does not contain an oxygen sensor.