A federal jury in California ruled Friday that Apple must pay medical device maker Masimo $634 million for infringing a patent on blood oxygen monitoring technology.<\/p>\n
Reuters reports<\/a> the jury found that the Apple Watch\u2019s workout mode and heart rate notification features violated Masimo\u2019s patent.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect our innovations and intellectual property, which is crucial to our ability to develop technology that benefits patients,\u201d Masimo said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cWe remain committed to defending our IP rights moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n An Apple spokesperson told Reuters that the company plans to appeal the verdict, adding, \u201cThe single patent in this case expired in 2022, and is specific to historic patient monitoring technology from decades ago.\u201d<\/p>\n TechCrunch has reached out to Apple for additional comment.<\/p>\n The legal dispute between Masimo and Apple focuses on pulse oximetry, which uses an optical sensor to detect blood flow. Masimo has accused Apple<\/a> of hiring away its employees \u2014 including its chief medical officer \u2014 and infringing its patents on pulse oximetry technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n The U.S. International Trade Commission sided by Masimo in 2023, banning Apple from importing Apple Watches with blood oxygen monitoring features \u2014 which is why Apple Watches have not supported blood oxygen monitoring in recent years.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco Then Apple announced in August of this year that it\u2019s introducing a new version of the feature<\/a> designed to circumvent the ban, with blood oxygen readings measured and calculated on the user\u2019s paired iPhone, rather than the Apple Watch itself.<\/p>\n Masimo is suing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol<\/a> for approving the import of Apple Watches with the new blood oxygen implementation, while Apple has asked an appeals court<\/a> to overturn the import ban.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n