Apple has announced it will remove a feature from two of its Apple Watch models in the US as it faces a legal battle over a licensing dispute over the technology behind it.
The iPhone maker will launch the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models without the blood oxygen tracking feature.
That’s because medical monitoring technology company Masimo accused the tech giant of stealing pulse oximetry.
Recently, the US Court of Appeals has ruled to ban the sale of two models that contain that feature.
In a statement, Masimo founder and chief executive Joe Kiani said this court decision “affirms that even the largest companies must respect the rights of American inventors and deal with the consequences when they are caught violating those rights.”
After the court’s decision, Apple said it “strongly disagreed”, however it will begin deactivating the blood oxygen function.
This legal battle, which does not affect devices sold outside the US, is expected to last about a year.