Blood Oxygen Sensor Returns To U.S. Apple Watches
Apple on Thursday posted an update to its Newsroom site wherein it provides an update on the blood oxygen sensor in Apple Watch. The company says the functionality has returned for users in the United States, adding software updates—iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1, released today—reenables the dormant feature. The workaround comes amidst Apple’s ongoing litigation with a company named Masimo over Apple’s supposed patent infringement regarding the aforementioned pulse oximetry sensor.
“Apple will introduce a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users through an iPhone and Apple Watch software update coming later today,” Apple said in its short announcement shared today. “Users with these models in the U.S. who currently do not have the Blood Oxygen feature will have access to the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature by updating their paired iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and their Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. Following this update, sensor data from the Blood Oxygen app on Apple Watch will be measured and calculated on the paired iPhone, and results can be viewed in the Respiratory section of the Health app. This update was enabled by a recent U.S. Customs ruling.”
Apple emphasizes the update pertains only to American Apple Watches. It does not affect “units previously purchased that include the original Blood Oxygen feature, nor to Apple Watch units purchased outside of the [United States],” the company said.
John Gruber has posted a good piece on the situation. Notably, he reports a source at Apple said today’s fix is known as “HQ H351038” but is “not yet publicly available” on the Customs and Border Protections’ Customs Rulings Online Search System website.
From an accessibility perspective, the restoration of the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen sensor is notable as monitoring one’s blood oxygen saturation is key for myriad respiratory issues. Indeed, lung conditions like asthma and pneumonia have the potential to lower blood oxygen levels, as do sleep-conditions such as sleep apnea. Coincidentally, Apple added sleep apnea tracking to watchOS 11 last September. The Health app on iPhone received a new metric the company calls “Breathing Disturbances” and users can track how elevated (or not) their breathing is during the night. The sleep apnea tracking is available on Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10 (which I have but never officially reviewed, alas), and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
