Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 2 may be about to get blood oxygen monitoring back
Apple’s big reveal of the new Apple Watch Series 10 showed off a hugely impressive smartwatch, one that we awarded 4 out of 5 stars in our review, while the Ultra 2 simply got a new (albeit sleek) black color.
One thing was the same on both of Apple’s latest watches, though: there’s still no blood oxygen monitoring on models sold in the US.
The feature has been disabled for some time following an ongoing legal issue between Apple and Masimo, a medical device company, which accused the tech giant of infringing its patent.
Now, however, a new report suggests that blood oxygen monitoring functionality could be making a comeback, thanks in large part to changes at the top of Masimo.
Blood Oxygen may soon be available again on the Apple Watch
That comes via Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, who reports in his report Power On Newsletter that Joe Kiani, Masimo’s longtime CEO, has resigned and “that could open the door for Apple and Masimo lawyers to work out a deal to bring back the blood-oxygen sensor to new Apple Watches.”
According to Gurman, Kiani “has been an outspoken critic of Apple for years,” leading to some optimism that a deal could be struck.
As for what that looks like, Gurman says, “I don’t believe Apple wants to make a licensing deal, but I can imagine a deal — financial or otherwise — that would allow the two sides to drop all lawsuits.”
While a change in leadership isn’t a guarantee that blood oxygen will return to the best Apple watches, it’s potentially an encouraging first step. Watch this space for more information!
