The watches will be pulled from shelves on January 18 unless Apple implements a workaround that disables the blood oxygen sensor in its newest smartwatches. If you are considering buying an Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2 and want a device with a blood oxygen sensor, you can buy it now. Starting tomorrow, Apple will once again have to pull its smartwatches from shelves due to a patent dispute with Masimo over the blood oxygen sensors on both devices.

Following the ban in late December, Apple was allowed to start selling the watch again after the court considered the company’s appeal. The US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals today rejected Apple’s request to allow it to sell the watch while the case continues to be appealed, 9to5Mac reported. Thus, the watches will be removed from store shelves on January 18.

“Considering all four factors and the final decision of the EOE branch [Exclusion Order Enforcement] Branch, we are canceling the stay and denying Apple’s request. “We were unable to reach a conclusion on the merits of the appeal,” the court document states. “Accordingly, the request is denied. The temporary stay must be lifted effective January 18, 2024 at 5:00 PM ET.”

According to the filing, the courts considered four factors, including whether Apple had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits, whether the company would be irreparably harmed without a stay, and whether granting a stay would cause serious harm to other parties involved in the case. and interest is where the public interest is.

In short, the courts did not believe that banning the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 would seriously harm Apple, and Apple’s arguments to the contrary were not strong enough for the court. So the ban continues and Apple cannot sell watches with blood oxygen sensors.

In preparation for the decision, Apple reportedly developed a software solution that would disable the blood oxygen sensor and allow it to continue selling both watches. U.S. Customs, which is responsible for enforcing the ban, has determined that this approach is possible.