12/19/2023

Apple to Halt Sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2

A dispute over a patent is at the heart of the pause

If you wanted to buy your loved ones the latest Apple Watch for the holidays, you should try to do it before Dec. 21.

Apple has announced that it will pause sales of its two newest Apple Watch models, the Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2, pending an expected ban by the US International Trade Commission. The federal agency is considering a ban because of a dispute over a patent for the technology that Apple uses in the newest Watch models’ blood-oxygen sensor.

9to5Mac reports that sales will pause on Apple.com starting at 3 p.m. ET on Dec. 21, and in-store inventory will no longer be available at retail locations starting on Dec. 24. The ITC's ban would only affect Apple, so the watches will continue to continue to sell on retailers like Amazon and Best Buy for the time being. The proposed ban also concerns only the import of watches into the United States, so both watches will continue to be available in other countries.

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.