A week after Apple stopped selling its Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, a ban on importing its watches for sale in the United States has been suspended.
Apple has now confirmed to TechCrunch that the Series 9 and Ultra 2 will be available again and available on its online store from Thursday, December 28. However, it’s hard to say when they will be on sale.
Apple Watch Series 9 vs. Apple Watch Ultra 2: What’s the difference?
The road to this point has been a winding one. As early as October, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) upheld a January ruling that Apple Watch’s blood oxygen tracking technology infringed on the patent of medical technology company Masimo.
That led to the current import ban, which was upheld after the Biden administration overturned a presidential veto, leading Apple to suspend sales of the products last week — before an appeals court halted the ban that would have allowed the watches to go on sale again. (Yes, it’s a bit complicated). The ban will now be suspended until the Court of Appeal takes the next step.
“We’re excited to return the complete Apple Watch lineup to customers in time for the new year. Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 (including blood oxygen features) will be available again in U.S. Apple Stores starting today, and will be available on It will be available tomorrow at 12 noon (Pacific time) on apple.com,” Apple told TechCrunch. “Apple teams have worked tirelessly for years to develop technology that delivers industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features to users, and we are pleased that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while considering our request to stay. The order is pending against us. Full appeal.”
So, how long will it take for this watch to be on the market? It all depends on what happens next in the Court of Appeal. According to Reuters, the court has given the ITC until January 10 to respond to Apple’s request to extend the injunction’s stay during the appeal process, so we should know more by then.
