After a week of unavailability due to an ITC ban, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 have returned to Apple’s online store. This comes after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit approved Apple’s appeal for a pause on the ban.
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The court granted Apple’s appeal on Wednesday, allowing the flagship Apple Watch models to return to store shelves. The decision puts the Apple Watch ban on pause while Apple waits for a decision from US Customs and Border Protection on whether its proposed software redesign of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9’s blood oxygen feature avoids infringing on the two Masimo patents. That decision from US Customs is scheduled to come on January 12.
Additionally, the appeals court gave the ITC until January 10 to respond to Apple’s request to stay the Apple Watch ban through the entire appeals process. Other parties have until January 15 to submit their support of or opposition to the ruling.
If US Customs rules that Apple’s software change is inadequate and the appeals court rejects Apple’s request for a stay on the ban through the entire appeals process, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 could be removed from the market again.
In a statement to 9to5Mac on Wednesday, Apple said:
We are thrilled to return the full Apple Watch lineup to customers in time for the new year. Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, including the blood oxygen feature, will become available for purchase again in the United States at Apple Stores starting today and from apple.com tomorrow by 12pm PT.
Apple’s teams have worked tirelessly over many years to develop technology that empowers users with industry-leading health, wellness and safety features and we are pleased 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.
In the interim, however, you can now head to Apple’s website and buy an Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2. The watches were unavailable for a week, with Apple pausing online sales on December 21.
Apple’s flagship Apple Watch models are available from select Apple Stores as well. The company says that broader availability will commence by December 30. You can also still buy an Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 from third-party retailers like Best Buy and Amazon.
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