In December 2023, Apple experienced unusual days when the sale of Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 was banned. This responded to a later decision by the United States International Trade Commission. It’s a lawsuit over possible patent infringement by the company Masimo that Apple plans to contest, as confirmed by the company’s CEO Tim Cook.

Although Apple was able to temporarily halt the ban until a settlement was reached, thanks to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, this week the bitten apple company announced it wanted to appeal the case. He is accused of deliberately stealing ideas for the blood oxygen saturation measurement function by hiring Masimo employees.

Apple does not want to negotiate with Masimo

In a recent new interview regarding the release of financial results for the first quarter of 2024, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that Apple is not interested in licensing Masimo’s technology and ending the war. He said he was instead focusing on Apple’s appeal of the ITC decision.

Previously, the Apple boss explained in a statement seen by Apple Insider: Possibly one strategy to continue offering the Apple Watch without an oxygen sensor:

We focus on attractiveness. There are many reasons to buy the watch even if it does not have a blood oxygen sensor.

Despite the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models leaving storefronts in the United States, Apple’s Wearables, Home and Accessories category reported $11.95 billion in revenueIt beat expectations for $11.39 billion in fiscal 2024.

With Tim Cook’s words regarding Masimo’s case, the stance of both companies regarding the future of this legal fight has now become clear.

At the beginning of January 2024, Masimo CEO Joe Kiani was proud and pleased with the direction the war with Apple, which started in 2020 and cost him approximately $100 million, was heading.

Until the legal status of the famous watch is resolved, Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 are sold with blood oxygen monitoring disabled through a software update to maintain sales through multiple channels in the United States. If a positive solution cannot be reached for Apple, it seems like this will continue.