Oliver Haslam on March 13, 2024, 7:52 pm

Apple Watch Blood O2 Feature Can Be Re-enabled Using A Jailbroken iPhone

You don’t need to have been following along too closely to know that Apple has been forced to disable the blood oxygen sensor on new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models that it sells in the United States after being found guilty of infringing upon a patent owned by Masimo.

Apple has appealed the decision, but for now, the ban stands.

However, it now appears that should Apple win the appeal it will be able to remotely enable the feature on Apple Watches that have been sold during the ban. And the company that figured that out is none other than Masimo.

An IP Fray report notes that new documentation made available following the court case shows that Masimo was able to reenable the blood oxygen sensor on a test Apple Watch by jailbreaking the iPhone that it was connected to. The Apple Watch’s sensor is only disabled during the pairing process, and that means that it can be enabled should the need arise.

Masimo was able to enable the feature by jailbreaking an iPhone and pairing it with the Apple Watch. And while that won’t be required should Apple win the patent battle, it’s clear that there is a mechanism that Apple will be able to use to reenable the feature should it want to.

Notably, the Masimo patent that Apple infringed upon expires in 2028, so it’s only a matter of time before Apple may flip that switch even if it does lose its patent appeal.