Customers are lining up outside the Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York as the tech giant’s latest iPhones and watches hit the shelves on September 22, 2023. Apple Inc. is facing a potential setback, as a review by the International Trade Commission is underway regarding Apple Watch devices incorporating a blood oxygen feature.
“While the review won’t conclude until December 25, Apple is proactively taking compliance measures in case the ruling is upheld,” stated the company. Despite disagreeing with the order, Apple is exploring legal and technical avenues to ensure continued availability of the Apple Watch to customers.
In the event the order stands, Apple commits to taking swift action to return the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to U.S. customers. The Series 9, launched just a few months ago in September, boasts a custom S9 chip for enhanced processing and introduces a hand gesture control called Double Tap.
This innovative feature allows users to answer or end calls, control music playback, and snooze alarms by tapping their index finger and thumb together twice. The hand gesture, enabled by an advanced neural engine, also facilitates scrolling through widgets. Siri’s expanded capabilities, such as starting a workout, and a brighter edge-to-edge display are among other updates to the Series 9.
The decision to keep the watches available for purchase in stores until December 24 aims to mitigate the financial impact of the potential pause. Analyst David McQueen suggests that by maintaining availability through the holiday season, Apple could offset any adverse effects on sales, given its dominant 24% market share.
This isn’t the first time Apple has encountered issues with Masimo, and the duration of the dispute and when Apple might resolve it remain uncertain. The potential impact on sales could be minimized if Apple successfully boosts sales in the final days before Christmas, assuming there is ample stock.
