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iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 Released: Blood Oxygen Monitoring Returns to U.S. Apple Watches
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You are being pedantic.
The measurement is on the watch and just like before, most users will view the data as they did, on their iPhones, after automatic readings. A small number of users who would have viewed the data on their watches on after on-demand readings will no longer be able to do that.
You'll have to share a link of some data to support that assertion please.
Otherwise you're just making that up to support your current view here.
how were they bullied? Apple had developed their own sensor and was manufacturing it before Miasmo had even submitted their patent which is vague and mentions a watch only in a single added sentence. Apple showed in court the they had developed a different way to measure blood Oxygen and only because of a jury hold out didn't win the case. The ITC accepted the argument they had used 'trade secrets' with no proof of same. This is a case of people just liking to pile on the big guy, Apple did nothing wrong.
As you now do Oxygen saturation data. *Yawn* big deal, atleast its there.
Sorry, very few users do on-demand readings of SpO2. A “normal person” most commonly used this feature with automated readings taken in the background that were always displayed only on his or her iPhone, so there would be no difference.
Since that was how most people used this feature before, it will be no different to them.
Based on the fact that those people purchased their watches knowing that they did would not measure SpO2, it would seem that it was not that significant a feature to them. My bet is that 90% of users do not care about this feature at all and of the remaining 10%, 99% only used the automated readings. So, no, I do not think the will find this unappealing.
Given that “normal people” have zero concern about actual theft of (e.g. pirating movies and music) I do not think they would care at all. People like you who do not even use these devices and clearly dislike Apple, but spend an inordinate amount of time complaining about most of their decisions, might care.
First, most people clearly do not care (look at how many people share streaming service passwords). Second, the jury that actually reviewed the case ended unconvinced that Apple was infringing on this patent. Six of the seven jurors voted against Masimo, while a bureaucrat at the International Trade Commission banned the import, so it is pretty likely that most people would disagree with your characterization of the IP as stolen in the first place.
You keep repeating this, but it does not make it so. There has only been one jury trial on this issue, and Masimo was unable that jury that Apple was infringing. Only one of the jurors thought that, while the other six voted against them. In addition, patents are intended only to project a specific implementation of an idea (with the goal of generating new and different ways of doing things) - this is not about “our maneuvering” anyone, this is about finding a different way of doing things.
Cool. So how does the phone get the reading, again?
Oh, that’s right. The sensors in the watch.
They are a large but (based on their decisions in the Sound United acquisition) stupid company that decided they should try to compete with Apple in the consumer electronics market. They are not being “bullied” no matter how you wish they were. In fact, they lost a patent infringement case to Apple in a jury trial, while Apple has not.
If you mean is it good that Apple was able to find a way to deliver this feature that some bureaucrats at the ITC find to be OK, than yes, I think that is good.
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Where is this option located? I can’t find anything about it
EDIT - Nevermind, I am a dumb. It’s in the Blood oxygen settings in the Apple Watch app.
Also it explicitly states it takes readings throughout the day as well as on-demand, so that answers that question as well.
Wish I could set it to only during sleep, since it does drain extra battery.
Repeating a blunt assertion doesn’t make it true.
Literally every single person I know with an Apple Watch does on-demand oxygen readings.
We all also use our watches to check on what the latest automatic O2 reading was and when it was taken.
It's especially useful if one is feeling under the weather, has an asthma condition, or merely wants to check their O2 level.
Much like with the ECG, we read the results directly on the Watch. Most of the people I know routinely take an O2 and ECG sequentially and view the results ON THEIR WATCH. We never pull out our phones to see what the results were.
Time to admit that Turbine Seaplane is right when writing:
It'd be great to see such data. We definitely ALSO review the O2 data on our phones from time to time — perhaps after a week or two to see the trends. But normally, routinely, daily even, we check it on our watches.
So, for many of us, Apple's workaround is a cobbled-together solution, a disappointment, and a big yawner. We want to keep the real O2, on-the-watch feature we're accustomed to. This so-called “solution” wouldn’t tempt us to upgrade at all!
For sure, no doubt, there are some who never check their watches for O2. Whether that’s a small or large percentage, no one knows!
Masimo's board of directors fired the founder and CEO over a year ago now. It's believed because he refused to settle with Apple when they had offered a large amount. The problem is they fired him AFTER the feature got pulled from the US version Apple Watches and it appears Apple pulled their offer from the table. I think Apple both 1) really feels they didn't infringe 2) feels they made a good faith significant offer but it was rebuffed and they were embarrassed having to pull the feature and 3) the feature wasn't important enough to further bow to what they viewed as extortion. They pulled their offer, found a work around while taking their lumps with the missing feature for 20 months, and sent a BIG, BIG message to companies trying to sue them for patent violations who aren't willing to work for reasonable settlements.
All Apple Watches that had the feature grandfathered (ie. sold before 1/24) will STILL do the calculations directly on the watch even after this update... the update only restores the new iPhone based calculation system for the watches that had disabled Blood O2.
Same. I’m so happy to see it is at least partially back. I’ve been holding onto an OG Ultra because I don’t want to lose this feature. I was bummed that I would not be getting the Ultra 3 since I really want the apnea detection, but don’t want to lose O2 measurements.
Has anyone checked or do you know if the "vitals" app will begin to use Blood O2 as a vital overnight data point it tracks like it does elsewhere in the world? I wonder because if the watch is still not allowed to show the results of SPO2 data I bet the vital app will still not be allowed to use it in the USA, which is unfortunate because I bet for most its the only realistic way the data is useful for them.
I didn't notice this at first. I agree. I don't like not being able to view the results on my Apple Watch.
I‘ve had it on my AWU1 in Europe and all I can say is that Blood Oxygen Monitoring is and absolute gimmick (for me) and would never be the reason I’d upgrade.
The data is barely accurate because you have to sit still during the measurement to get the best results - the majority of the data that gets collected during the day is unreliable at best. If you really depend on knowing your blood oxygen data chances are you‘re not using an Apple Watch…
I am so glad i did not upgrade from the AW 6 to the 9 ! I can check BO levels without having to reach for my iPhone. - “recent customs ruling”!! Mmhh, i wonder if …
If there is no infringement anymore, why not give your customers the feature back in full? So, there are first buyer AW 9 users who have the readout on their watch and AW 9 users who need the iPhone for that? What a joke and what a disservice by Apple.
I've compared my watch's readings when the nurses at the Dr office took SpO2 readings and they all have been with 1%, I think that's quite accurate. And in fairness, when you get your SpO2 measured at the doctors, they typically do blood pressure as well and you are sitting still for a minute or tow or more, you should use the same behavior when taking measurements with the AW.
For me personally, nighttime measurements are more meaningful than during the day and I check my vitals on the phone every morning for that