An appeals court temporarily lifted an import ban on Wednesday, allowing Apple to offer the most recent Apple Watches for sale. In response to the decision, the company announced that the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models can be purchased from Apple stores starting Wednesday and online beginning Thursday.
Apple said on Wednesday that its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models, including the blood oxygen feature, will be available for purchase once again in the United States. The availability follows a temporary pause of an import ban that was granted by an appeals court on Wednesday, a major victory for the iPhone maker.
The Apple Watches will be for sale in Apple Stores starting Wednesday and will be available online starting Thursday at 12pm PT. Apple had to stop selling its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches last week in response to an International Trade Commission order in October that found the blood oxygen sensor in the devices had infringed on intellectual property from Masimo, a medical technology company that sells to hospitals.
The Biden administration declined to pause the ITC ban on Monday, but Apple filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Tuesday, which granted the temporary stay. Apple is still pushing for a longer stay and the ITC has to reply by January 10. Apple has also submitted redesigned Apple Watch models to customs for approval that could negate the import ban.
The stay allows Apple to sell the latest models of one of its most lucrative products during the lucrative holiday shopping season. Ultimately, Apple was unable to directly sell a few Apple Watch models in the U.S. for a few days. However, the Apple Watch SE, an older model that cannot read blood oxygen levels, and the latest Apple Watch models were still available from other retailers such as Best Buy and Amazon, provided they had stock.
Masimo's stock fell more than 4% on Wednesday while Apple's stock remained unchanged.
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