If you were planning to get an Apple Watch Series 9 or the Apple Watch Ultra 2 from the US, because it is slightly more affordable than what one has to pay in India, then there’s bad news. Time to ditch those plans. That’s because Apple Watches in the US will no longer sell with one important feature: blood oxygen monitoring.
The reason for this major change is a lawsuit over patent infringement. The Cupertino-based tech giant is currently embroiled in a lawsuit against Masimo, a California-based health technology firm. And Masimo is winning so far. So what has happened and should you buy the Apple Watch in India? Let’s take a look.
Wait, Apple is Actually Removing Blood Oxygen Monitoring?
Yes, it is true. In October, Apple lost the patent case with Masimo over the blood-oxygen measurement technology at the International Trade Commission (ITC). The ITC ruling had in effect banned sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2– yes the Apple Watches were banned from going on sale in the US.
Apple complied with this ruling in December pulling the watches off retail shelves before Christmas. There was also an import ban for Apple Watches in the US. Now, according to Reuters, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Apple cannot sell models which use the disputed technology. The workaround is that Apple is removing the feature from its watches for now.
Masimo’s case is that Apple poached its top executives to build the blood oxygen monitoring technology and infringed on its patents. While Apple has appealed the ruling, it has got approval from US customs that it can continue to sell the watches as long as the infringing feature is removed.
Apple will likely appeal the decision and in a statement said it “strongly disagrees” with the ITC’s decision. According to a New York Times report, the app for blood oxygen monitoring will continue to show on the newly sold Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. But if a user taps on it now a message will pop up saying that the feature no longer works. For those who already have an Apple Watch with the feature, it will continue to work just fine.
Should I Just Buy The Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2 in India?
If you were planning to get a new Apple Watch Series 9 or even Ultra 2 from the US market, we suggest a change in plans. The Apple Watch Series 9 starts at Rs 41,900 for the 41mm variant (GPS only) and Rs 44,900 for the 44mm version (GPS only). If you want GPS+LTE, then prepare to pay Rs 10,000 more for both size options depending on preference. This price is for the Aluminium variant, which is what most users typically prefer.
Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 2, this starts at Rs 89,900 and GPS+LTE as well. This watch also shows out of stock on Apple’s website for now. Let’s look at the India prices and US prices below of the various variants below.
| Apple Watch Model | Price in India | Price in US and Converted |
| Series 9 (41mm) | Rs 41,900 | $399 (Rs 33,167) |
| Series 9 (45 mm) | Rs 44,900 | $429 (Rs 35,665) |
| Ultra Series 2 | Rs 89,900 | $799 (Rs 66,425) |
| Series 9 (41mm with LTE) | Rs 51,900 | $499 (Rs 41,484) |
| Series 9 (45 mm with LTE) | Rs 54,900 | $529 (Rs 43,979) |
As seen above, the Apple Watch Series 9 starts at $399 (41mm, no LTE) in the US which on conversion is around Rs 33,617 approx. If you were to get this version– which is what most consider simply from a price point– it would cost approx Rs 38,000 to Rs 39,000. The price includes the sales tax one has to pay in the US, which does differ in each state. Either way, the price difference is not as high. But now that the India variant will have the Blood Oxygen monitoring feature, we suggest you stick to picking this up from India itself.
The price difference is more apparent with the GPS+LTE variants which start at $499 or nearly Rs 41,000 in the US. But then there can be an issue with LTE connectivity in India, though most users report that the LTE works fine with their watch brought in the US. Apple customer support, however, says the LTE will only work in the US for a watch sold in the US. So it is a risky call to take.
Meanwhile, the Watch Ultra 2 starts at $799, which is approximately Rs 67,000. This time there is a noticeable high price difference compared to the starting price in India. But with no blood oxygen monitoring in the US variant, this is a critical miss for such a premium watch.
In our view, it makes more sense to buy the latest Apple Watch versions from India keeping the latest change in mind. Especially for those wanted a Watch Ultra 2, buying this without a feature which is found on even basic smartwatches in India makes little sense.
