iOS 26.4 Adds Average Bedtime Metric and Restores Blood Oxygen to Health App Vitals Graph

while the pockets might be deeper, they might also be smarter in not spending money on lawyers with the remaining life of those patents quite limiting ...

Not to mention that the patent in contention expired in 2022. It's not clear why Apple has not fully re-enabled O2 in the US by now, but it doesn't appear that there is any legal reason for Apple to continue using the workaround.

My guess is that they are simply waiting until the ongoing litigation comes to an end. So if the new owners aren't going to continue pursuing Apple in court or are more willing to settle with Apple, this entire saga may finally come to an end and consumers in the US may finally get back full O2 functionality on Apple Watch.

It should be noted that Masimo is being bought by Danaher. Danaher will have deeper pockets to fight back against Apple.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/danaher-buy-masimo-99-billion-2026-02-17/

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Danaher will acquire Masimo in a $9.9 billion deal, as it looks to expand its diagnostics portfolio with the California-based medtech company's devices to monitor blood oxygen levels.

The companies said on Tuesday that Danaher will pay $180 per share to buy Masimo. The offer represents 38.3% premium to Masimo's last close.

The deal marks a rare move beyond life sciences company Danaher's core drug-development tools business, to gain a foothold in the market for blood oxygen monitoring products, a segment dominated by Medtronic and Masimo.

The deal with Masimo broadens Danaher's diagnostic segment, complementing its invasive Radiometer blood analyzer devices with Masimo's non-invasive pulse oximeters, brain function and respiration monitoring devices, among other products.

while the pockets might be deeper, they might also be smarter in not spending money on lawyers with the remaining life of those patents quite limiting ...

I think the author of this article needs to sleep earlier!

Getting the blood oxygen back into the vitals view will be very nice

Not to mention that the patent in contention expired in 2022. It's not clear why Apple has not fully re-enabled O2 in the US by now, but it doesn't appear that there is any legal reason for Apple to continue using the workaround.

The patents expire in August 2028.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US10912502B2/en

https://patents.google.com/patent/US10945648B2/en

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/masimo-sues-us-customs-over-apple-restoring-watchs-oxygen-tool

US Customs and Border Protection unlawfully let Apple Inc. reactivate a blood-oxygen tracking feature on Apple Watches that infringes patents for the technology, Masimo Corp. said in a federal lawsuit.

CBP exceeded its authority in an Aug. 1 internal advice ruling that overturned its own January decision without notice or input from Masimo, the medical-device maker said in a complaint filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. Masimo brought claims under the Administrative Procedure Act and the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause.

Apple announced Aug. 14 that software updates would restore the blood-oxygen feature for US Apple Watch owners by shifting calculations to paired iPhones rather than the watch itself. Masimo said that was the first time it learned CBP had quietly reversed course two weeks earlier in an ex parte ruling, despite the agency’s policy that such decisions normally require both sides to be heard. The feature has been banned on US Apple Watches since the US International Trade Commission in October 2023 found it infringes claims in two Masimo patents.


[ . . . ]

Masimo said the reversal “effectively nullified” an October 2023 limited exclusion order from the ITC, which found Apple Watches infringe US Patent Nos. 10,912,502 and 10,945,648 covering non-invasive pulse oximetry. Apple’s appeal of the ban is pending at the Federal Circuit.

Blood oxygen was available as a separate metric in the Vitals section, but it is now visible in the Vitals overview. The Vitals feature did not fully support blood oxygen because of Apple's ongoing legal dispute with Masimo. Masimo accused Apple of infringing on Masimo patents related to blood oxygen sensing, and it secured an import ban from the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Apple had to remove blood oxygen sensing from the Apple Watch starting in early 2024 to be able to continue to sell the Apple Watch in the U.S., but Apple was able to re-add it in August 2025 with blood oxygen readouts available only on the iPhone. There is still no option to measure blood oxygen with the Apple Watch and see the results directly on the wrist in the U.S.

It should be noted that Masimo is being bought by Danaher. Danaher will have deeper pockets to fight back against Apple.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/danaher-buy-masimo-99-billion-2026-02-17/

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Danaher will acquire Masimo in a $9.9 billion deal, as it looks to expand its diagnostics portfolio with the California-based medtech company's devices to monitor blood oxygen levels.

The companies said on Tuesday that Danaher will pay $180 per share to buy Masimo. The offer represents 38.3% premium to Masimo's last close.

The deal marks a rare move beyond life sciences company Danaher's core drug-development tools business, to gain a foothold in the market for blood oxygen monitoring products, a segment dominated by Medtronic and Masimo.

The deal with Masimo broadens Danaher's diagnostic segment, complementing its invasive Radiometer blood analyzer devices with Masimo's non-invasive pulse oximeters, brain function and respiration monitoring devices, among other products.