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The International Trade Commission (ITC) had previously banned the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 for infringing on Masimo’s patents. This ban forced Apple to disable the blood oxygen monitoring sensor in the U.S. While Masimo believed they had served justice, Apple has now issued a press release stating that the feature is returning. Apple plans to restore functionality using smart tactics, as becoming a trillion-dollar company requires innovative thinking.
With the blood oxygen monitoring feature restored, owners of compatible Apple Watches can measure key metrics through the ‘Blood Oxygen’ app. To access this feature, users need to update their paired iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and their Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. Data will be displayed on the ‘Blood Oxygen’ app running on the Apple Watch and calculated on the iPhone. Results can then be viewed in the ‘Respiratory’ section of the Health app.
A U.S. Customs ruling favored this decision, allowing for the sensor data from the Blood Oxygen app to be measured and calculated on the paired iPhone. This update does not affect Apple Watch models that originally included blood oxygen monitoring or those purchased internationally.
While this workaround can be considered clever, users must own an iPhone and go through multiple steps to view the results. The process is somewhat cumbersome but represents Apple’s current best solution for delivering the feature.
News Source: [Apple](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/08/an-update-on-blood-oxygen-for-apple-watch-in-the-us/?1755176422)
