Apple has announced that it’s introducing a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature on some of its latest smartwatches, including the Watch Series 8, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra. The move comes after the tech giant was forced to remove the original feature due to an International Trade Commission (ITC) import ban.
The new feature will be measured and calculated on the paired iPhone, with results displayed in the Respiratory section of the Health app. However, users won’t be able to view the data directly on their Apple Watch.
Apple’s decision is made possible by a recent U.S. Customs ruling, which allows the company to import watches with the redesigned feature. The change only affects new models sold after the ITC ban took effect in early 2024.
The announcement comes as Apple is still involved in a legal dispute with medical device maker Masimo over the use of pulse oximetry technology. In 2023, Masimo won an ITC ruling against Apple, blocking imports of watches with blood oxygen monitoring.
Apple has counter-sued Masimo, claiming that the company copied its features to develop its own smartwatches. The tech giant also plans to appeal the original ITC ban.
The redesigned Blood Oxygen feature is now available for download through an iPhone and Apple Watch software update, which will be released on Thursday.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/14/apples-blood-oxygen-monitoring-returns-to-its-latest-apple-watches