Why has Apple been banned from selling latest Watches in US?

Apple has been banned from selling two of its newest and most popular wearables — the Watch Ultra 2 and the Watch Series 9 — in the United States, due to a patent infringement lawsuit, after an October decision by the United States International Trade Commission went uncontested by the Biden administration.

The Biden White House had until the end of Christmas day to overturn a US International Trade Commission ruling that prevents Apple from selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, among other newer models, because they violate patents registered to another company. But, as expected, it did not intervene.

The office of US Trade Representative Katherine Tai confirmed the decision in a statement Tuesday.

The US International Trade Commission found that Apple infringed on blood oxygen detection patents held by California-based medical monitoring company Masimo and called for a ban on the import and sale of Apple Watches that contained the infringing technology.

The company it was pursuing both legal and technical options to resume imports of the most advanced watches, including submitting a redesign of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches for U.S. Customs approval.

In its emergency appeal motion, Apple requested a temporary stay on the ban at least until U.S. Customs can consider its redesign, which is expected to take place by January 12. The company said in the motion that it could “suffer irreparable harm” if the ban is kept in place while the appeal is ongoing.

So, what is the Impact of the ban:

· No current sales: Apple pulled the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 from its US stores and website on December 24th, 2023.

· Existing inventory: Retailers like Best Buy and Target may still have some remaining stock of the banned models, but once it's gone, they cannot legally sell more.

· Future models: It's unclear how this will affect future Apple Watch models with blood oxygen detection. Apple could redesign the feature to avoid infringing on the patents, or they could potentially face ongoing legal battles.

It's important to note that the situation is still ongoing, and any of these next steps could take place. Stay tuned for further updates!