Bad news for Apple Watch users waiting for the blood oxygen sensor to return

Almost two months since Apple halted sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 with the blood oxygen feature, a new document published by the US Customs and Border Protection shows when Cupertino might finally be able to reinstate this technology.

According to the document (via ipfray), the patent Apple infringed is set to expire in August 2028. That said, if the US International Trade Commission doesn’t accept Apple’s appeal before this date, the Cupertino firm could reinstate the blood oxygen feature.

Still, it could be quite a long time before Apple is able to bring back this feature to Apple Watch users. Unless Apple finds a way to develop a blood oxygen sensor that doesn’t infringe the patent in question, the functionality might not be back until the company unveils the Apple Watch Series 14.

That said, Cupertino will likely find another way to reinstate this feature sooner rather than later. Below, BGR explains the timeline of this Apple Watch blood oxygen feature ban.

Apple Watch blood oxygen ban explained

On December 18, Apple announced it might have to stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 in the United States due to a legal battle. According to the statement, the company would stop selling these smartwatches as soon as 3:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 21, while in-store inventory would not be available from physical Apple locations after December 24.

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