Read, Watch or Listen

Apple is reinstating blood oxygen monitoring on its Apple Watch Series 9, 10, and Ultra 2 models, but with a workaround. Due to an import ban imposed by the International Trade Commission following a patent dispute with Masimo, the feature now processes data on the paired iPhone rather than the watch itself. The data is viewable in the iPhone's Health app. This applies only to watches sold after January 17th, 2024, with serial numbers ending in LW/A, requiring watchOS 11.6.1 and iOS 18.6.1 updates. Apple's appeal of the ban continues.

Prepared by Jonathan Pierce and reviewed by editorial team.