Jury Says Apple Owes Masimo $634 Million for Patent Infringement

A federal jury in California has ruled that Apple must pay medical device manufacturer Masimo a total of $634 million for infringing a patent related to blood oxygen monitoring technology.

According to Reuters, the jury determined that the Apple Watch’s workout mode and heart rate notification features violated one of Masimo’s patents.

“This is a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect our innovations and intellectual property, which is crucial to our ability to develop technology that benefits patients,” Masimo said in a statement. “We remain committed to defending our IP rights moving forward.”

An Apple spokesperson told Reuters that the company intends to appeal the verdict, emphasising that “the single patent in this case expired in 2022 and pertains to historic patient monitoring technology from decades ago.”

TechCrunch has also reached out to Apple for additional comment.

Background on the Apple–Masimo Dispute

The long-standing dispute between Apple and Masimo centres on pulse oximetry, a medical technology that utilises optical sensors to measure blood oxygen levels. Masimo has accused Apple of poaching key employees, including its former chief medical officer, and of violating multiple patents covering its proprietary pulse oximetry technology.

In 2023, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)ruled in favour of Masimo, finding that Apple had infringed its patents. The ITC subsequently banned Apple from importing Apple Watches that featured blood oxygen monitoring capabilities — a restriction that explains why recent Apple Watch models have lacked the feature.

Apple’s Workaround and Ongoing Legal Battles

In August 2025, Apple unveiled a new version of its blood oxygen monitoring feature, explicitly designed to bypass the import ban. Under this revised system, blood oxygen readings are measured and processed on the user’s paired iPhone, rather than directly on the Apple Watch itself.

However, Masimo has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, arguing that the agency improperly allowed Apple to import the modified Apple Watch models. Meanwhile, Apple has petitioned an appeals court to overturn the original ITC import ban.

The legal battle remains active, with both companies pursuing separate claims against each other. In a countersuit, Apple won a symbolic victory when a jury found that Masimo had infringed Apple’s design patents, awarding the iPhone maker the statutory minimum of $250.