Blood Oxygen Feature Finally Returning to Apple Watch in the US

[jz0309]

Sorry but I have seen many people complain that the sensor is not very good. And it should NEVER be used as a reliable medical tool, only as a guide at best. Also I never said I do not see ‘usefulness’ of a the feature, that is you assuming things, also you are again assuming claiming I am in good health, how do you know?

over the past 12 months or so I have done a half dozen comparisons while at the doctor taking a SpO2 reading and my AW was within 1% all the time, so I call that rather accurate ... still, it's not a medical tool as you say

 

[jabbawok]

Any idea how you trigger it to take a reading?

 

[azhava]

Any idea how you trigger it to take a reading?

Open the Blood Oxygen app on the watch and hit 'Start'.

 

[Abazigal]

I guessed as much when Apple decided they would rather disable said feature on their watches in the US than pay a cent to Masimo.

 

[transpo1]

Companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung use their patent portfolios as bargaining chips to essentially share or license technologies with each other. The difference with Masimo is that either they aren't willing to license their patent to Apple or they want an unreasonable price per unit for it and Apple isn't willing to agree to it.

Not that simple. If Jobs had lived, Apple would have never settled with Google and the associated handset manufacturers-- he would have taken that lawsuit all the way. He wasn't playing. And he was right to do so-- Google and their hardware partners basically stole the iPhone software/hardware.

 

[jabbawok]

Open the Blood Oxygen app on the watch and hit 'Start'.

It’s odd. It didn’t offer that option after doing the update to the watch and iPhone, but it’s the next morning and now it’s there. Thanks for replying anyway. I’ve got a USA S10 I bought while visiting and a UK iPhone.

 

[un_homme]

I think I’ll buy a refurb Apple Watch 10 and finally upgrade my 8.

If you buy refurb from Apple you save $ 70 USD. If you buy brand-new from Best Buy or Amazon, you save $ 100 USD.

 

[newellj]

This is a nice surprise, even though mine is the original AWU2 which never lost the feature. Happy for those who will be getting it!

I also have an early AWU2 that has always had SpO2 functionality. I installed the .1 updates last night and then realized I didn't know how it would affect watches sold before the import ban. Happily, the blood-oxygen app still displays on-watch on my AWU2.

 

[newellj]

OK I am confused. I have both an Apple Watch 8 and 10. If I do the update and do a BO test on the Series 8, will it still show on the Series 8 watch itself, but on the Series 10 it will show only on the iPhone? Or will the Series 8 now move to only show on the iPhone going forward?

My pre-import ban AWU2 still displays SpO2 on the watch. It's not necessary to go to the Health app on the iPhone to see the reading.

 

[Mike330R]

Seems it's still disabled on my Ultra 2 running 11.6.1.
In settings/blood oxygen it says no longer available.

 

[Rafagon]

I also have an early AWU2 that has always had SpO2 functionality. I installed the .1 updates last night and then realized I didn't know how it would affect watches sold before the import ban. Happily, the blood-oxygen app still displays on-watch on my AWU2.

Yep, good thing the .1 update didn't screw that up for you. Apple actually got something right!

 

[newellj]

Yep, good thing the .1 update didn't screw that up for you. Apple actually got something right!

Makes sense, though. Apple didn't have to disable the blood oxygen app on our early AWU2 watches, so reducing the functionality of the blood oxygen app now in watches that previously had it would be like waving a red flag in front of some law firm looking for a good class action case against Apple.

 

[Momof2.1107]

I was one of the lucky people who purchased an AWU2 that has the blood oxygen sensor activated, from Costco who had old stock in their warehouse back in November 2023. I haven’t updated to 11.6.1, as I want to make sure it will help with the decreasing battery drain I’m experiencing with 11.6.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I was one of the lucky people who purchased an AWU2 that has the blood oxygen sensor activated, from Costco who had old stock in their warehouse back in November 2023. I haven’t updated to 11.6.1, as I want to make sure it will help with the decreasing battery drain I’m experiencing with 11.6.

I bought an old stock Ultra 2 from Costco too. I updated my S6 first to make sure it didn't have any negative effects to SPo2. After I was satisfied with the results, I updated the Ultra 2. I had no issues with battery drain before or after the update

 

[artifex]

Trying to remember when those two patents Masimo holds expire, but I think I read it's in just a couple of years. So hopefully any new device sold with the workaround at this point will get a minor software patch right afterwards.

 

[davidjytang]

Good. I had read that Masimo wanted a licensing fee of over $100 per watch. I’m all for people making money off their inventions, but don’t claim you’re there for the good of the world and then try something so exorbitant.

> claim you’re there for the good of the world and then try something so exorbitant.

Your comment oddly reminded me Apple.

 

[dwrufus53]

Breaking news:

Masimo was last to learn about blood oxygen sensing returning to Apple Watch

Masimo found out about restoration of pulse oximetry to the Apple Watch the same way that the rest of the world did, and is suing US Customs and Border Protection to stop the process.

appleinsider.com

Masimo suggests a deal was made

There was a portion of the lawsuit that pointed out Apple's significant investment in the United States. While no direct accusations were made, it called out the timeline of being denied appeals in March, announcing new investments in the United States, then being allowed to reactivate a banned feature.

When Masimo requested why a meeting with Apple was taken without Masimo present, it was told that such a meeting can occur in "exceptional circumstances." However, the CBP did not clarify what those circumstances were.

It is unclear where the case will go or how it will affect Apple. It seems that the ITC will likely have to weigh in on Apple's new system that offloads processing to the iPhone before any decision is made.

In the meantime, Apple can likely ship the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 with the blood oxygen feature enabled. Even if a new ban goes into place, the devices already purchased during this hiccup in the ban enforcement may not be affected.

 

[blcamp]

Think about what you just said here ... the big bully (Apple) with the huge clout and bank account is forcing their way to what they want -- eventually.

You don't actually like that, right?

The one I want to *win* is whomever *actually invented* the technology. The roots of this tech do not go to either company, so I fail to see how Masimo could have been granted a patent here.