The next Apple Watch may be missing a headline health feature

Date:
Mon, 22 Jan 2024 11:51:37 +0000

Description:
If the Apple Watch cant track blood oxygen levels other features might be at risk and that could be bad news for the rumored Apple Watch X.

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Apples very public dispute with health device maker Masimo has got tongues wagging over the possibility of the Apple Watch one of the best smartwatches in the world being banned in the US. As a result, Apple has had to disable blood oxygen monitoring features on its devices and that could have serious implications for other planned features.

As Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman notes in his latest Power On newsletter , sleep apnea tracking a key feature thats rumored to be coming to the next Apple Watch later this year might be at risk.

Why? Well, Apples conflict with Masimo all comes down to patents Masimo holds regarding blood oxygen monitoring. Apple has recently been ruled to be in violation of those patents, and the company was forced to implement a
software fix that disabled the feature in any new Watches it sold.

Gurman believes that being able to keep track of blood oxygen is vital for sleep apnea monitoring, and that if Apple is barred from implementing any
kind of blood oxygen feature in its wearables, that would have a knock-on effect on its sleep apnea plans, and potentially other upcoming new features as well if they also rely on checking blood oxygen levels. The Apple Watch X is in the crosshairs (Image credit: Apple)

This wouldnt be a problem if Apple is able to quickly resolve its patent dispute with Masimo. But at the moment, that doesnt seem likely.

Thats because Apple has appealed the ruling . Appeals can be lengthy processes, and Apples is expected to take at least a year. That means the
next Apple Watch (due out this year) might have to go without Apples flagship sleep apnea feature.

Its terrible timing for Apple, since the 2024 Apple Watch will be the
companys tenth anniversary model. According to the rumor mill, itll be
branded the Apple Watch X and could come with a slate of special features to mark the occasion. Thanks to this patent quarrel, it looks like at least one major addition will be missing.

Its possible that Apple will be able to include this feature by some other means. But the company doesnt have a lot of time to come up with a solution, considering how long the testing, design and manufacturing processes all
take. If youve been hoping for sleep apnea tracking in the next Apple Watch, youll have to keep your fingers crossed for better news over the coming months. You might also like Apple's patent rival claims the Apple Watch's blood oxygen feature is unreliable Apple Watch 10: what we want to see The best smartwatch 2024: top wearable smartphone companions for fitness tracking



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/smartwatches/the-next-apple-watch-may -be-missing-a-headline-health-feature


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