The saga continues…
im kinda surprised they havent just bought the problem. must be up against some of them giant patent hoarder groups
That or someone owns a legitimate patent that they don’t feel like handing to Apple. Money doesn’t automatically buy you the rights to the intellectual property of others.
The article says Apple violated the patents of Masimo Corp and Cercacor Laboratories. Just 30 seconds of Googling reveals both are companies that make non-invasive health monitoring devices, so it does seem legit that they own legitimate patents that they don’t want to sell to Apple.
Agreed. If it’s a big patent troll against a startup, I get the criticism. Apple’s a big corporation with a lot of clout that can easily be abused. I think it’s best that the courts are handling this.
Not everyone is for sale
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Apple filed an emergency motion seeking court permission to begin selling two of its most popular watches again until a final decision on its broader appeal in a bitter patent dispute is decided.
The company cut off sales right before the Christmas holiday and in a motion filed Tuesday, Apple said it would suffer “irreparable harm” if previous court orders remain for the two weeks that it said the U.S. International Trade Commission will take to respond to its appeal.
The disruption will likely cost Apple about $300-400 million in holiday-season sales, estimated Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives.
That’s a relative drop in the bucket for Apple, given that industry analysts are expecting the company to generate nearly $120 billion in sales this quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season.
After a 60-day review, the ITC’s decision became final Tuesday, but the company had already pulled the watches from store shelves and removed them from its online sales lineup.
Apple contends that the ITC’s decision is based on multiple factual errors and that Masimo does not sell a competing product in the U.S. in “meaningful quantities” and would not suffer harm if the order is stayed.
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I don’t understand the point of buying the Watch. Much less for updating one.
I love mine. I had a Pebble, which I also loved, but the Apple Watch merges pretty seamlessly with the rest of my Apple stuff, and has extra features my Pebble doesn’t. I think they should either pay a usage fee to Masimo, or change their software. They’ve wasted enough money and time fighting it.
For me, the Apple Watch is about reducing notifications to mere glances at my wrist. That instead of interrupting what I’m doing to pull my phone out of my pocket I can at a glance categorize what, if anything, I need to do in response to that notification. That and always accurate time to me was worth getting a watch. I upgraded from a series 3 to a series 6 when the sensor tech advanced enough to convince me to update. The 9 has some new stuff, but not enough to convince me to upgrade.
Times where I’ve found myself pleased with my smart watch:
- Keeping discreet timers.
- Discreet taps on the wrist when a delivery is arriving or someone important is trying to call me.
- Quick replying to texts from my SO.
- Pinging my misplaced phone.
- Directions to places via cryptic taps on my wrist (and having a little map if I want to check).
- Remote camera view-finder and shutter button for group photos where everyone can be in them.
- Having a money conversion calculator on my wrist when traveling.
- Audio controls from my wrist. (Really nice if you like walking around without a phone in front of you.)
- Paying through a subway turn-style with a tap from my wrist instead of needing to dig something out of my pockets.
- Keeping track of my health, which I wouldn’t have otherwise.
- Less general dependency on my phone itself, resulting in better battery life.
Not saying you should or shouldn’t get one. These are just reasons I’ve found myself happy with mine.
Other people have already responded, but I wanted to add my two cents because I use mine as a disability support. It was paid for out of my National Disability Insurance Scheme plan here in Australia, and they’re known for being tough about the things they will cover.
- Calling or texting formal & informal supports to ask for help when without my phone or it dies.
- Medication reminders I can’t miss.
- Metrics like: Walking Speed, Step Length, Asymmetry, Steadiness and Double Support Time that help my Physio and OT with assessment and therapy. Important because I use a cane or walking frame 95% of the time.
- Detailed heart data that helped me have my POTS diagnosed. Heart meds have helped me be able to exercise way more without tachycardia.
- Paying without needing to juggle things with one hand (using cane in other hand).
- Smart home control for things like lights, blinds/curtains, fans, aircon, heating, TVs, computers always on my wrist.
- Sleep & Exercise tracking help me feel validated when my body hurts more than usual.
