If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to the Apple Watch 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2, the time to act is now. Apple will be pulling the popular devices from its website on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023 and from its stores on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023 over a patent dispute. Other retailers are expected to follow suit.
The news comes ahead of an import ban on the Apple Watches expected to take effect on Christmas Day (Dec. 25). Here’s why Apple is halting sales on its latest smartwatches, and how to get yours before they disappear.
Why are Apple Watches being pulled from stores?
Apple has been tangled up in a patent infringement lawsuit with Masimo, a medical technology company, since 2021. In October, the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in favor of Masimo, saying Apple’s use of pulse oximeter technology (blood oxygen measuring) in the Apple Watch violates its own patent.
As part of the ruling, the ITC would ban imports of the popular smartwatches into the United States.
A presidential review panel has 60 days to review — and possibly overturn — that ruling. But if President Biden’s administration doesn’t veto the ITC order, the import ban will go into effect on Monday, Dec. 25, 2023.
How to get a new Apple Watch before the ban goes into effect
If you want to get a new Apple Watch 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2, you’ve got less than a week to complete the purchase. In reality, your time window is even shorter — the most popular sizes and colors may sell out, as they have in the past. Once they’re out of stock this time, they’ll likely be sold out for a long time.
The good news is that a few retailers are actually holding sales on the Apple Watch now, ahead of the import ban. Here are the best Apple deals from around the web.
Save $70 on the Apple Watch 9 at Walmart while you can
Siri Health may be the best new upgrade in the Apple Watch 9. It makes starting your workouts and getting status updates along the way a breeze. Instead of navigating the watch screen, just say “Siri, start an outdoor run workout” or “Siri, start a yoga workout.” Your new watch will immediately start tracking the activity, even when you’re not connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network. You can also ask Siri for updates during a session like what your current heart rate is or how much distance you’ve covered so far.
This makes the Apple Watch 9 a great choice for people who need to interact with their watch during workouts to check stats or start and stop timers. The hands-free functionality will seriously improve your workout experience so you can accurately log your activity without having to fuss with your watch.
It’s also a great smartwatch option for the multi-taskers. If you tend to squeeze in your exercise during the workday, for example, the ability to answer calls or reply to emails without having to stop your workout is a game changer.
You can get it this week at Walmart for as low as $329 for the 41mm size of the Wi-Fi version. That’s $70 off the regular price of $399.
The larger 45mm size is also $70 off at Walmart. Get the larger size for just $359 this week (reduced from $429).
If you want the cellular version that lets you leave your iPhone at home, you can get the Apple Watch 9 LTE at Amazon starting at just $429 (reduced from $499).
Last chance: Apple Watch Ultra 2 is $70 off at Amazon
The new Apple Watch Ultra 2 (49 mm) boasts all sorts of great upgrades on top of the Apple Watch 9. Aside from the brighter screen (3,000 nits!), one of our favorite upgrades is the customizable watch face.
Modular Ultra, the watch face on the new Ultra, lets you customize which metrics and performance data are displayed on your watch. Each widget on the face can be customized to display whichever data you need so you don’t have to toggle between screens anymore. Everything you need to check is on one screen.
It also boasts improved depth and altitude tolerance. Dive down as far as 100 meters (about 325 feet) or scale mountains as high as 9,000 meters (about 29,500 feet) above sea level. Since the tallest peak on earth is Mount Everest’s 8,848-meter peak, that means you can take this to the top of literally any mountain on the planet.
The new built-in Depth app logs your dives and lets you review your most recent sessions on the watch. From your phone, you can see your complete dive history, complete with GPS pinpointed entry point.
You can save $70 on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 at Amazon. You can get the rugged, advanced Apple Watch for just $729 (reduced from $799).
Will the Apple Watch 9 return?
Even though the ITC ruled in favor of Masimo in the recent patent case, Apple has no intention of giving up on its popular smartwatch. In an email to CBS MoneyWatch, the tech giant said, “Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers.”
The device could return to shelves in the future, but the process to appeal the ITC ruling is unlikely to be quick. It’s also possible that Apple could make modifications to its smartwatch to remove or alter the blood oxygen monitoring feature, but again, doing so will take time.
