CEO’s removal brings possibility of oximetry tech coming back to Apple Watch
Joe Kiani, former CEO of Masimo, resigned this week after investors voted and succeeded in removing him from the board. Bloomberg’s Apple insider Mark Gurman thinks this might open the door to a potential compromise between the two companies to bring Masimo’s tech back to the Apple Watch.
Apple had to remove the oximetry (measuring oxygen levels in your blood) technology from its watches after a dispute with Masimo. The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Apple had infringed Masimo’s patents for this technology. Apple has been trying to find a workaround ever since that didn’t include settling with Masimo.
Kiani has also been a thorn in Apple’s side for years according to Gurman. The former CEO has been calling out Apple for various misdeeds for a long time and, as a result, has likely made Apple less willing to negotiate. Furthermore, Apple probably felt even more pressured recently when Masimo partnered with Google to bring its tech to Wear OS smartwatches.
Kiani’s resignation will most likely lead to an overhaul of how Masimo conducts business. We might see the company’s oximetry tech back in Apple Watch pretty soon if both entities can figure out a solution. This will be crucial because health tracking is one of the main reasons people buy smartwatches or wristbands nowadays, which means Apple has been losing out on potential customers.
Apple had to remove the oximetry (measuring oxygen levels in your blood) technology from its watches after a dispute with Masimo. The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Apple had infringed Masimo’s patents for this technology. Apple has been trying to find a workaround ever since that didn’t include settling with Masimo.
Kiani’s resignation will most likely lead to an overhaul of how Masimo conducts business. We might see the company’s oximetry tech back in Apple Watch pretty soon if both entities can figure out a solution. This will be crucial because health tracking is one of the main reasons people buy smartwatches or wristbands nowadays, which means Apple has been losing out on potential customers.
Apple Watch Series 10 is the company’s newest entry in its smartwatch lineup. | Video credit — Apple
It is, undoubtedly, rather impolite (to say the least) of Apple to not have come to a settlement sooner. Not only did the company infringe on Masimo’s intellectual property, it then refused to pay for a license as it was rightfully requested to. The politics at play here deprived consumers from a very important medical feature for a long period of time.
It’s still not confirmed that Masimo’s oximetry tech will return to the Apple Watch, but it is a lot more likely now with Kiani gone. With poor sales of Vision Pro, being late to AI and the iPadOS 18 disaster, Apple cannot afford to fall behind in yet another product category.
It’s still not confirmed that Masimo’s oximetry tech will return to the Apple Watch, but it is a lot more likely now with Kiani gone. With poor sales of Vision Pro, being late to AI and the iPadOS 18 disaster, Apple cannot afford to fall behind in yet another product category.
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