Users can once again purchase the latest Apple Watch directly from Apple. Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 will be re-sold in select Apple stores starting today, and are expected to be available to a wider range of companies by Saturday. Apple spokesperson Nikki Rothberg revealed that online sales will resume at 3 p.m. Eastern Time tomorrow.
Apple will likely be able to sell Apple Watch models through most of January, or even longer, depending on the court's ruling.
A federal appeals court suspended a sales and import ban on the two devices just hours before sales resumed. Apple was banned from selling the two products in the United States after the U.S. International Trade Commission determined that the company infringed on patents owned by medical device maker Masimo.
The appeals court said Apple can continue selling its watch for the time being while it awaits a response on whether proposed changes to its watch would avoid patent issues. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is scheduled to rule on the changes on January 12. Failing that, the court is considering whether to put the ban on hold until the court rules on the patent dispute, which could delay the ban for months, but if the appeals court decides not to suspend the ban during the appeal process, Apple will need to stop sales again.
"Apple's teams have worked tirelessly for years to develop technology that provides users with industry-leading health, wellness and safety features, and we are pleased that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal," Rosberg said in an emailed statement.
Before the ban took effect on December 26, Apple had stopped sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in its online and physical stores. The ban covers devices containing blood oxygen saturation sensors. Apple has equipped its flagship watch with a blood oxygen saturation sensor since it launched the Series 6 watch at the end of 2020. Only the less expensive Apple Watch SE does not have a blood oxygen saturation sensor, so it will continue to be sold while the ban is in effect.
While the ban is in place, third-party retailers are allowed to continue selling their stock of Apple Watches, although the import ban will ultimately prevent them from obtaining any more Apple Watches.
The suspension of the ban not only allows Apple to temporarily resume sales, but also provides Apple time to provide sufficient inventory to third-party retailers in case the ban is reinstated. If the ban is reinstated, Apple retail stores in the United States will have to stop selling Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, but the ban does not extend to retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart, and Target.