Apple Enables Blood Oxygen Feature on Apple Watch in US with iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 Update
Apple has started rolling out an update in the US that finally lets users access the blood oxygen feature on the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2. This comes through a combined iPhone and Apple Watch software update. Apple had confirmed in a press release that the rollout would begin on the night of August 14, and I can confirm I’ve now received it.
The update arrives as iOS 18.6.1 with a size of 431.4 MB, which appeared on my iPhone 12. To enable the feature, you’ll also need to update your Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1.
Following this update, blood oxygen sensor data from the Apple Watch will be measured and calculated on the paired iPhone instead of the watch itself. The results can be viewed in the Respiratory section of the Health app. This change comes in response to a recent U.S. Customs ruling.
For anyone not aware of the background: back in 2020, Masimo, a medical technology company, filed a lawsuit against Apple claiming it used patented technology that relies on light to measure blood oxygen levels. The ITC sided with Masimo and banned imports and sales of Apple Watches with this feature. Apple later appealed, and the ban was partially lifted, but now they’ve come up with this workaround, shifting the processing to the iPhone rather than the watch itself.
It’s important to note that this change only applies to watches sold in the US. Units sold outside the US, or those that originally came with the full feature, remain unaffected.
