José Adorno for BGR
Over a year and a half after Apple had to temporarily suspend Apple Watch sales and subsequently eliminate the blood oxygen feature from the Apple Watch Series 9 and later models, the company revealed that an updated Blood Oxygen feature is being introduced for the models available in the U.S.
As stated in a press release, the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 sold in the U.S. will receive a software update later today that incorporates this feature. Apple states: “Users with these models in the U.S. lacking the Blood Oxygen feature will gain access to the revamped Blood Oxygen feature by updating their linked iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and their Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. After the update, data from the Blood Oxygen app on Apple Watch will be processed and assessed on the paired iPhone, with results accessible in the Respiratory section of the Health app. This development was facilitated by a recent ruling from U.S. Customs.”
Apple clarifies that there are no changes for Apple Watch models obtained outside of the U.S. or those that already include the original Blood Oxygen capability.
