Apple to sell some watches without blood oxygen feature after US court ruling

FILE PHOTO: An Apple smartwatch is displayed as customers visit the Apple store in New York, U.S., December 26, 2023. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Apple said on Wednesday it would remove a blood oxygen monitoring feature from two flagship Apple Watch models in the U.S. as the iPhone maker fights a legal battle over patents on the technology behind the feature.

The legal fight could take a year to resolve, and analysts had expected Apple would strike the feature, which is marketed for fitness uses, rather than pull devices from sale in one of its biggest markets.