Apple has today released iOS 16.6.1, launching alongside watchOS 11.6.1, which brings a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for select Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models in the United States.
In the updated system, users in the US who currently lack access to the Blood Oxygen app will regain it by updating their paired iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. Under the new design, the Apple Watch will still gather raw sensor data, but the calculations will be performed on the paired iPhone. Results will then appear in the Respiratory section of the Health app.
The relaunch follows Apple’s removal of blood oxygen monitoring from US models last year, after losing a patent dispute with Masimo, a US-based medical technology company. Masimo accused Apple of infringing on patents related to blood oxygen sensing, a feature first introduced with the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020. That feature allowed users to check their blood oxygen saturation levels, typically ranging from 95% to 100%.
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