Apple no longer sells Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 through its U.S. Apple Store stores. Previously, on December 21, Apple suspended online sales of Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9. This was also one of Apple’s prearranged actions to withdraw these two products in the United States in preparation for next Monday’s ITC import and sales ban.
The ban prevents new goods assembled overseas from entering the U.S. and Apple from selling them, but retailers with existing inventory are still free to sell the models after the deadline, limited to what they have on hand.
The ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC) is part of a patent infringement case brought by medical technology company Masimo. In 2020, Masimo accused Apple in a lawsuit of infringing patent rights and stealing trade secrets to produce the blood oximeter in the Apple Watch.
While the initial lawsuit ended in a mistrial, the ITC ruled in favor of Masimo in January 2023.
The ruling means that Apple Watch models equipped with a blood pulse oximeter will be banned from importing, but other models that do not use this component, such as Apple Watch SE, are not affected.
The ban will take effect on December 25, but the White House may veto the ban and allow sales to continue. Apple will also have to wait for the White House to decide whether to allow the ban to take effect or deny it before it can appeal the ITC's ruling.
It is in Apple's best interest to appeal because, absent a dispute, the import ban could theoretically last until August 2028, when the relevant patents expire.