Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Patent Dispute

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alasta

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#311209 23-Dec-2023 10:12

I have been following with great interest the patent dispute which has resulted in Apple's flagship watches being temporarily withdrawn from the US market. These types of disputes are not uncommon, but if allegations are true about Apple poaching Masimo staff and IP then it's not a good look. Apparently existing Apple Watch owners in the US are not even able to get their devices repaired or swapped out, and there is speculation that the blood oxygen sensor might have to be disabled when the product eventually goes back on sale.

I wonder if Garmin are celebrating this, or are they possibly nervous about ending up on the receiving end of similar patent disputes?

rugrat

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#3175042 23-Dec-2023 15:34

I’m wondering if should hold off buying new watch. It would be terrible for a software update to prevent it from working, as a feature available at time of purchase.

MyFriendAutism

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#3175046 23-Dec-2023 15:49

Tech Altar's "TheFridayCheckout" has a good little rundown @ the 3:40s mark.

alasta

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#3175050 23-Dec-2023 16:19

rugrat:

I’m wondering if should hold off buying new watch. It would be terrible for a software update to prevent it from working, as a feature available at time of purchase.

I think it's more likely that it would only be disabled for units sold after the point in time when they go back on sale. If existing units had functionality removed then it would open up Apple to an onslaught of class action lawsuits.

Personally if I were in the market for a new Apple Watch then I would wait and see whether they win their next appeal and, if not, what the implications might be.

I tend to yo-yo between Garmin and Apple watches as I like the utilitarian athlete-focused design brief of the former, but the cellular connectivity on the latter is a great safety feature if something goes wrong while I'm out running. If I were buying something right now then I'd probably buy a Garmin due to the current uncertainty with Apple.

ezbee

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#3175064 23-Dec-2023 19:20

This kind of thing has been used to leverage getting shared patent rights.
Sign agreement for us to use some of your patents.
You can keep using some of ours, and we all save huge legal costs.

Depends on if the other guys patents have been driving you into a not very rounded corner.

I suppose special treatment in Apple store and ecosystem might be an offer worth a lot.
Apples own products probably have a lot of advantages in this area, so levelling this may have lots of value.

Kyanar

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#3175864 27-Dec-2023 18:48

ezbee:

I suppose special treatment in Apple store and ecosystem might be an offer worth a lot.
Apples own products probably have a lot of advantages in this area, so levelling this may have lots of value.

Unlikely that Masimo would gain anything from that - their target audience is physicians and hospitals. They have maybe one or two consumer products - it's just not what they do.