- After an 18-month ban, Blood Oxygen Tracking comes back to Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2
- However, it is not a hero on one of the device experience
- Apple Watch still measures blood oxygen but iPhone calculates and shows the final result
It’s been a long 18 months, but Apple announced that Blood Oxygen Tracking and Monitoring is returning to Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2 in the US.
The feature was disabled and effectively banned on the series 9 and Ultra 2 – then series 10, which was launched later – after a decision in January 2024 due to a patentist about the technology used between Massimo and Apple. Thanks to iOS 18.6.1 and Watchos 11.6.1, which will be rolled out later today, the feature returns in a ‘redesigned’ form.
In its new iteration, Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2’s sensors can take a reading and then transfer the data to the connected iPhone where they are calculated and displayed in the health app under ‘Respiratory’ readings.
So no, you can’t take the reading, see as it progresses and then see the results right on your wrist that you could before. Still, this effectively returns the tracking and monitoring functionality to the affected Apple Watch models in the United States.
In a shared statement, Apple explains the changes as:
”Brugere med disse modeller i USA, der i øjeblikket ikke har Blood Oxygen -funktionen, har adgang til den redesignede blodoxygenfunktion ved at opdatere deres parrede iPhone til iOS 18.6.1, og deres Apple Watch til WatchOS 11.6.1. Efter denne opdatering kan sensordata fra Blood Oxygen -appen på Apple Watch blive målt og beregnet på parret iPhone, og resultaterne kan betragtes i the reacting part of the whole of health.
The US Customs Decision is key here as this will return the feature to Apple Watches, which was sold when the ban began and was then enforced. If you still have an older Apple Watch, or one sold before January 2024, blood oxygen functionality will not be -imposed and will not be changed. This also applies to any models sold outside the United States, which have been impressed by this decision.
Still, this returns the blood’s oxygen function to Apple Watch, even if it divides the experience between watch and phone. But this separation is probably the key to having this allowed and approved by US customs.
For those who have purchased an Apple Watch series 9, 10 or Ultra 2 in the many months, this is a return to the form and rounding of the health tracking features on Apple’s star laptop in the United States. Even in our Apple Watch Series 10 review, we noticed that the Blood Oxygen Tracking feature was missing in the United States.
Apple has a pretty smart roll -out here, and given the rumors of further pushing into health functions, which we may see with future generations of Apple Watch models, it may be helpful to make these readings go straight into the health app. Either the route, if you’ve been waiting for Blood Oxygen Tracking to return, it’s back, but you want to make sure your iPhone is nearby if you want to see the results.
While Apple has not shared an accurate timing for the roll -out of iOS 18.6.1 and Watchos 11.6.1, it has promised to arrive today – August 14, 2025 – in the United States and we update this piece when we see it rolling out.
