Apple says that its blood oxygen monitoring feature has been “redesigned” for the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States. The new solution involves measuring sensor data from the Blood Oxygen app on the Apple Watch and sending it for calculation to a paired iPhone, with the results to be viewable in the Respiratory section of the Health app.
My SpO₂ readings only dipped below 98% when I was ill a few months ago, and returned to 98%+ once I recovered. That’s the only time I’ve really noticed the feature. As such, I doubt blood oxygen monitoring (or its absence) has had much influence on Apple Watch purchasing decisions or Apple’s bottom line.
That said, this is a clever workaround that’s been 19 months in the making, and one that’s sure to irritate Masimo. Where do they go from here?
The claim is being brought against the company by Dr Rachael Kent, an academic at King’s College London, on behalf of herself and about 19.6 million other iPhone and iPad users in the UK.
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“This is the behaviour of a monopolist and is unacceptable. Ordinary people’s use of apps is growing all the time, and the last year in particular has increased our dependence on this technology. Apple has no right to charge us a 30% rent for so much of what we pay for on our phones – particularly when Apple itself is blocking our access to platforms and developers that are able to offer us much better deals. This is why I am taking this action.”
Singapore Buses has a monthly in-app subscription that costs users £0.99, of which I receive £0.70. Here’s the thing, though: I set the price, not Apple. If Apple decided it was going to remove its 30% commission—a commission that is charged to developers, not end users—I’d still set the price at £0.99, because it’s* *only £0.99.
MacRumors concept (the Orange looks like