Apple Inc. has pulled the plug on sales of its latest Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models via its online store in the U.S., and it will soon stop selling them at its physical stores too.

The decision to suspend sales of the products comes ahead of an imminent export ban on the watches. The ban will come into effect on Dec. 25 following a ruling by the International Trade Commission regarding a long-running patent infringement case brought by the medical tech firm Masimo Corp.

Reuters reported that the Apple Watch page on Apple’s online store now displays the older Apple Watch SE model as its flagship smart watch offering at the top. The Series 9 and Ultra models are now listed as “currently unavailable.”

Although online sales from Apple’s store are now unavailable in the U.S., consumers can still purchase the products at other retailers such as WalMart Inc. and Best Buy Inc., which are allowed to sell existing stock even after the Christmas Day deadline. The ban also does not restrict resales of existing products. That said, Bloomberg reported today that the ban also means Apple can’t carry out any out-of-warranty repairs on the affected products.

Masimo filed a lawsuit against Apple with the U.S. District Court in 2020, alleging that the iPhone maker stole trade secrets and violated patents relating to the blood pulse oximeter that’s integrated with the Series 9 and Ultra models. While the District Court trial ended in a mistrial and hasn’t yet resumed, a later filing with the ITC ended up going Masimo’s way. In January 2023, the ITC ruled that Apple had indeed violated that company’s patents, and implemented the import ban.

If Apple cannot successfully contest that ruling or come to an agreement with Masimo, the import ban will remain in effect until August 2028, when the patent expires.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Apple has been trying to come up with a workaround, developing new algorithms that adjust how oxygen saturation is determined and how the data is provided to users, in an effort to sidestep the technology that violates Masimo’s patents. However, Masimo’s patents are reportedly related to the hardware that powers the blood oxygen sensor in the watches, and the California-based company believes that a software update will not be enough. “The hardware needs to change,” Masimo Chief Executive Joe Kiani said.

Apple had asked that the import ban be delayed until it could appeal the ITC’s ruling, but that request was denied.

Although the incident is somewhat embarrassing for Apple, it’s unlikely to have a material effect on the company’s bottom line. Analysts say the ban could result in between $300 million and $400 million in lost sales for the company, but that number is fairly minuscule considering that the company is anticipating sales of almost $120 billion during the holiday quarter.

Image: Apple