Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Apple Races Against Time To Alter Its Smartwatch Algorithms After New Feature Accused Of Patient Infringement And May Result In Ban

Tech giant Apple is racing against time to make some swift changes to its smartphone watches.

The iPhone maker is trying to devise a rescue mission to help prevent a complete ban on its smartwatches after an interesting feature was called out linked to its algorithms. This had to do with the measurement of the patient’s blood oxygen levels that could come under patient infringement.

Therefore, the Cupertino firm is not planning on taking any risks in this regard and hopes that its quick software amendments could potentially save it from a potential US ban. This is why the firm’s engineers are busy at work after the allegations arose from Masimo Corp in this regard.

They are now just so busy in terms of adjusting technology used to evaluate the levels of oxygen saturation and put it out as client data as per sources familiar with the matter.

So as one can imagine, it’s definitely one type of engineering effort that has high stakes linked to it, very different from what we’ve seen the company take part in the past. But it’s not the first time that the company’s offerings have been barred in certain nations regarding legal issues.

However, if such a ban does arise regarding this matter, it’s definitely not a small one as it would hit the company massively. After all, smartwatches are a huge seller and one of the organization’s main means to make money on its own soil where it resides.

Did we mention how it’s the holiday season and anything of this nature could affect sales massively and end up dramatically hitting profits as the year comes to a close.

Thanks to a veto conducted by the White House at the last moment, a ban may take effect by the ITC on Christmas, reports have gone on to add.

Now it’s up to Masimo as to how it plans on tackling the situation. It might enter into a deal with the iPhone maker in this debate but on most occasions, that’s not the route it takes or likes to take.

Meanwhile, both firms are showing no possibility of making any kind of deal of that sort on the matter so far. But at the moment, the Cupertino company is making swift and due efforts to modify the technology while attempting to win over favors alongside regulators.

When and if such bans hold true, the iPhone maker also has backup plans in place to provide options on a legal basis as well as the technical front.

It has already started to make amendments in its leading stores for the change. This entails new signs generated to leading retail firms marketing Apple Watch without any display of images from the Ultra 2 and the Series 9. Both the former and the latter are included in the ban, in case you did not know. However, the firm’s lower-end range for devices is still going to be up for grabs to customers, it added.

We would see the company halting sales of the barred smartwatches online by Thursday and then witness it pulling them out as in-store offerings by next week, presumably one day before Christmas.

It’s been a tough pill for Apple to swallow as the firm’s shares are down by nearly 1% during the start of the week as stocks did not change during pre-market trading the next day, where it remained at $196. Meanwhile, shares for Masimo went up by 3.2% during the week’s start.

Masimo just rolled out a press statement on the effective ban for smartwatches by Apple as it feels this is proof of how even some of the world’s most successful tech companies need to follow the law or be ready to witness penalization if they cannot.

The word has spread in Apple that there is a strong belief that changes done to software could do enough to save the organization from a thorough ban and we would soon see it back in stores very soon.

What is interesting is how the debate coming from users is more linked to the hardware than the software so let’s see how Apple really does get to the bottom of it.

Photo: DIW - AIgen

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

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