Apple and health tech company Masimo are tangled up in a legal battle over the blood oxygen sensor in the latest Apple Watches. Masimo CEO Joe Kiani spoke to Bloomberg TV, expressing doubts about the reliability of Apple's sensor, suggesting that consumers are "better off without it."
Apple has temporarily disabled blood oxygen monitoring on the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 amid the ongoing legal dispute. Kiani accused Apple of presenting its sensor as a trustworthy medical pulse oximeter, despite, in his view, it not meeting that standard. "I really feel wholeheartedly that consumers are better off without it," he remarked.
According to Kiani, Masimo's technology surpasses Apple's. He mentioned that he hasn't engaged in settlement talks with Apple, indicating a prolonged legal battle.
Kiani's critique revolves around the Apple Watch sensor, also known as a pulse oximeter, taking intermittent readings instead of continuous measurements. He argues that this limits its effectiveness in detecting issues like sleep apnea. Apple defends its approach, stating that intermittent readings and manual spot-checks are suitable for the sensor's intended purpose. Apple believes accuracy is better ensured by cross-referencing against high-quality reference data rather than continuous logging throughout the day and night.
It's crucial to note that Masimo's pulse oximeter technology holds approval from the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, classifying it as a medical-grade device for data quality. Apple lacks this approval but asserts that its watches remain valuable for health monitoring. As highlighted by 9to5Mac, an academic study has vouched for the Apple Watch sensor's ability to reliably detect reduced blood oxygen saturation, deeming it sufficiently advanced to rival medical-grade technology.