Apple added a new blood oxygen monitoring feature to the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 on August 14, 2025. This update comes after a court case over the intellectual property rights of the technology.
The U.S. International Trade Commission said in 2023 that Apple’s blood oxygen sensors violated patents owned by Masimo, a medical technology company. This caused Apple to temporarily stop selling some Apple Watch models that had the blood oxygen feature and come out with new models that didn’t have it.
According to Apple, the new version of the blood oxygen feature is being brought back because of a recent decision by U.S. Customs. Users can get to this feature by installing iOS 18.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 on their devices. The results from the sensor will appear in the Respiratory section of the Apple Health app.
Apple stressed its dedication to privacy and health by saying it is still working on products that give users access to the best health and safety technology based on science.
This update is part of Apple’s larger push into health technology. For example, the Apple Watch can now detect sleep apnea, and AirPods now have hearing health features. Apple also started its biggest health study in five years earlier this year.
Masimo has been contacted for comment regarding the latest updates.
This is a big step forward for Apple as it tries to add back in an important health monitoring feature after settling a lawsuit over its technology.
