Apple Halts Select Apple Watch Sales Amid Dispute
CNBC, reported that Apple will temporarily halt U.S. sales of two of its latest Apple Watches, a move prompted by an ongoing intellectual property dispute surrounding the devices’ Blood Oxygen feature. This decision arises from two orders issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission on October 26, which place limitations on Apple’s ability to market products incorporating the Blood Oxygen feature following a disagreement with Masimo, a medical technology company.
According to Apple Support, the Blood Oxygen feature allows users to measure their blood oxygen levels on-demand directly from their wrist, offering valuable insights into overall wellness.
Apple and the Blood Oxygen feature dispute.
Despite the intellectual property dispute, U.S. customers will not experience an immediate disruption in their ability to purchase the affected watches. Online sales of both the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will be temporarily suspended at 3 p.m. on Thursday, with in-store sales halting after Sunday.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the White House had a 60-day window, in accordance with ITC policy, until December 25 to review the imposed restrictions. However, Apple has opted to begin the sales pause ahead of schedule to ensure compliance with the order should the ITC ruling be upheld.
If the decision stands, one of the ITC’s orders will prohibit Apple and its affiliates from importing watches featuring the Blood Oxygen feature, along with materials related to this functionality. The ITC’s second order, a cease-and-desist order, compels Apple to stop selling products incorporating the Blood Oxygen feature.
In response to these developments, Apple has said its commitment to “take all measures” to promptly resume the sales of both watches, according to CNBC. It’s worth mentioning that this depends on the resolution of the intellectual property dispute.
Multiple reports say that customers who have already purchased the affected Apple Watches will not encounter any issues with their products, and there is no change to the availability of either model outside of the U.S.
Vintage Gadgets: Outdated Tech That Still Sparks Joy
A Physical Calculator
You probably haven’t seen a calculator in ages, but a Reddit user chimed in to say that, for them, the old-school scientific calculator beats the one on your phone or any app. They simply put it like this, “Honestly, a standard scientific calculator is just easier to use than your phone’s built-in scientific calculator.” It could be the fun button-tapping sound or the nostalgic thrill of typing in cheeky words with numbers that makes this person prefer calculators.
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Watches That Only Tell The Time
Smartwatches may pack in loads of features, but there’s a catch – they need regular charging and maintenance, and their battery life is shorter. On the flip side, traditional watches are a low-maintenance choice with longer battery life. In fact, a Redditor mentioned they still rock a “a lovely, inexpensive, bombproof, analog, big face Casio.” They also pointed out that smartwatches aren’t allowed at their job, so their trusty Casio gets the job done.
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CD Player, MP3 Player, and Vinyl Albums
If you’ve put a ton of effort into collecting CDs and vinyl records, and creating some killer playlists, why ditch them, right? One person told their story about growing up in the ’90s, building a massive CD collection, and stashing them all in one of those Case Logic CD binders. They fondly shared, “I still keep it with me in my car and it’s a wonderful trip down memory lane every time I open it. I laughed and cried a little when my kids friend asked me what it was and I said, ‘CDs’ and they followed up with, ‘What’s that?'” But also: not everything is available on streaming services. That obscure soundtrack or tribute album from the ’80s? Licensing issues may have prevented it from hitting the streamers. Love Joni Mitchell? Well, Spotify doesn’t have her catalog. Sure, you can subscribe to another service, but if you kept your old vinyl and have a turntable, you can listen to it the old school way.
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"I Love Wires"
You have people who can’t stand a tangle of wires in their tech setup, and then there’s that Reddit user who’s all about the wired life. They firmly believe that wired networking is “not obsolete or outdated.” According to them, it’s superior in every aspect, except for the mobility it lacks compared to wireless. They put it simply, “Wired is the ideal, you only go wireless if running cable is unfeasible for the situation.
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A Regular Doorbell
A regular doorbell does its job well. It lets you know someone’s at the door. On the other hand, a video doorbell does the same but with the perk of letting you see and hear the person at your door, even if you’re not home. Someone mentioned they’d be up for a smart doorbell if it kept the data local. They said, “I don’t want anything being sent online, so I might need to set up my own system… I’ll just stick with the traditional kind.”
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Physical Buttons
A Redditor shared their affection for good old physical buttons, arguing that not everything needs to go the touchscreen route. They stressed the importance of having car radios equipped with buttons rather than screens, believing it’s a safer choice. They explained, “It’s easier for me to push a button to change the music while keeping my eyes on the road/ I can’t do that if my car has a screen. It increases distracted driving incidents.”
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