U.S. jury orders Apple to pay Masimo $634 million in smartwatch patent dispute
A federal jury in California has ruled that Apple must pay $634 million to medical-technology company Masimo Corp for infringing a patent related to blood-oxygen monitoring used in Apple Watch devices.
The jury found that the Apple Watch’s workout mode and heart-rate notification features violated Masimo’s patent rights, the company confirmed, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Apple said it disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal. Masimo called the decision “a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect our innovations and intellectual property.”
This lawsuit is part of a broader, years-long legal fight between the two California-based companies. Masimo has accused Apple of:
recruiting its employees
copying its pulse-oximetry technology
integrating the technology into Apple Watches without permission
The dispute previously led to a major setback for Apple. In 2023, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) banned the import of Apple’s Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches after finding the devices infringed Masimo patents.
To comply, Apple temporarily removed the blood-oxygen feature from affected models, and later reintroduced an updated version in August 2025 after securing approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The ITC said on Friday it will reopen proceedings to determine whether Apple’s updated watches still violate Masimo’s rights and should remain subject to the import ban.
Masimo is also pursuing separate litigation against U.S. Customs over the approval decision, while Apple continues to challenge the original import ban at the federal appeals court.
The companies’ legal battles have produced varied results:
In 2023, a California judge declared a mistrial in Masimo’s trade-secret case after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
Apple won a symbolic $250 judgment against Masimo in Delaware last year in a separate dispute involving smartwatch design patents.
The latest ruling marks one of the largest financial blows Apple has faced in its ongoing smartwatch patent war.
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