Apple Watch getting redesigned blood oxygen feature following legal dispute

Apple on Thursday announced a redesigned blood oxygen feature for some Apple Watch users, following a years-long intellectual property dispute over the capability.

Apple said the redesigned feature is coming to some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users on Thursday. The update was possible because of a recent U.S. Customs ruling, the company said.

In 2023, the International Trade Commission found that Apple's blood oxygen sensors infringed on intellectual property from Masimo, a medical technology company. Apple paused the sale of some of its watches and began selling modified versions of the wearables without the blood oxygen feature.

"Apple's teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features that are grounded in science and have privacy at the core," the company said in a release announcing the feature rollout.

CNBC has reached out to Masimo for comment.

Users who do not currently have the feature will be able to access it by updating their iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and their Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1, Apple said. Users will be able to see their results in the Respiratory section of the Health app.

Apple has been pushing deeper into health care in recent years.

The company recently released a sleep apnea detection feature for Apple Watch users and hearing health features for its AirPods headphones. In February, Apple launched its first major health study in five years.

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