How to tell if the Apple Watch you're about to buy has pulse oximetry

AppleInsider

Starting January 18, Apple will sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 with pulse oximetry disabled in software. Here's how to tell if an Apple Watch has pulse oximetry or doesn't.

How to tell if your Apple Watch has pulse oximetry

Apple has a how to identify your Apple Watch webpage. It's great for figuring out generally which model you have, but it still has yet to be updated with one key feature -- how to tell if an Apple Watch has pulse oximetry.

There's one way to tell. Check the part number on the Apple Watch.

Apple says on its Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch Hermes, and Apple Watch Series 9 pages that "the ability to measure blood oxygen is no longer available on Apple Watch units sold by Apple in the United States after January 18, 2024. These are indicated with part numbers ending in LW/A."

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You're safe if you're reading this on January 18 or within a few days or have an Apple Watch that you bought before January 18. The current ban is only on imports and sales via Apple on the device.

For now, the best way to check pre-purchase is on the device's box. There is a string of characters starting with M and ending either in LL/A or LW/A. The former has pulse oximetry, and the latter does not.

The model number is shown here, on the right side of the back of the box, towards the bottom.

Back of an Apple Watch box, look for the characters starting with M and ending in LL/A or LW/A

Failing the box, the unit itself can be checked if the watch is set up.

1. Select the Settings app on the watch


2. Tap General


3. Tap About


4. Scroll down to Model


5. Tap the five-character model number that starts with A to see the full model number

If it has LW/A on the end instead of LL/A, the pulse oximetry feature is disabled in the software as a result of the import ban. This watch is an original Apple Watch Ultra, so obviously, it has pulse oximetry.

Apple Watch Ultra, after tapping the A model number

Third-party vendors like Amazon and Best Buy can continue to sell through what they have with pulse oximetry. On the morning of January 18, listings are still unmodified, suggesting they all still have the feature.

It's unclear if they will alter listings after that stock runs out to reflect that feature, but it seems likely that they will.tho



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rgh71

Is Apple required to, or planning to, disable pulse oximetry on older model 9’s through iOS updates?  I’m on 10.2, but can I safely accept new updates without killing this feature?  I would expect that the release notes would mention it, but who knows!

skippingrock

hi, one thing that is not clear for me… does this only affect Apple Watches sold in the USA? For those of us north of the USA board (aka Canada) will the LL/A still be sold, or because most shipments come into Canada via USA, we'll be affected too?

dope_ahmine

skippingrock said:

hi, one thing that is not clear for me… does this only affect Apple Watches sold in the USA? For those of us north of the USA board (aka Canada) will the LL/A still be sold, or because most shipments come into Canada via USA, we'll be affected too?

Good question. The article only states “no longer available on Apple Watch units sold by Apple in the United States”. But that doesn’t automatically mean it’s available elsewhere.

charlesn

skippingrock said:

hi, one thing that is not clear for me… does this only affect Apple Watches sold in the USA? For those of us north of the USA board (aka Canada) will the LL/A still be sold, or because most shipments come into Canada via USA, we'll be affected too?

Apple's press team should be all over this with a clear statement about where watches are affected by the ban and what has been disabled in the Watch. True story: an article was published in the NYTimes yesterday under the headline: "Apple To Disable Pulse Readings in Apple Watch." I did a double take, knowing this was absolutely not true, and read the story, where it continued to state, wrongly, that pulse readings would no longer be possible due to patent infringement. And there was no comments section to correct it. I immediately wrote to the author and explained that this was wrong and that only pulse oximetry readings were being disabled which are totally different from pulse readings. He wrote back today admitting the error and said it would be corrected. Apple needs to control the narrative about this and to clarify "gray" situations like the one you desscribe, in which Watches come in through the USA, but are directly transported to other countries for distribution and sales. 

chasm

rgh71 said:

Is Apple required to, or planning to, disable pulse oximetry on older model 9’s through iOS updates?  I’m on 10.2, but can I safely accept new updates without killing this feature?  I would expect that the release notes would mention it, but who knows!

No, Apple does not have to, and will not, disable pulse oximetry on ANY previous Series 9 or older Apple Watches. If your Watch has pulse oximetry now, it will continue to have it in the future.

chasm

skippingrock said:

hi, one thing that is not clear for me… does this only affect Apple Watches sold in the USA? For those of us north of the USA board (aka Canada) will the LL/A still be sold, or because most shipments come into Canada via USA, we'll be affected too?

This ONLY affects Apple Watches sold in the US. Canadians and the rest of the world will carry on with the pulse oximetry feature as normal.

Shipments to Canada and other countries, even if they are coming from the US, will continue to get the LL/A models that have pulse oximetry.

chasm

dope_ahmine said:

Good question. The article only states “no longer available on Apple Watch units sold by Apple in the United States”. But that doesn’t automatically mean it’s available elsewhere.

Yes it does. That’s exactly why the qualifier of “sold by Apple in the United States” is in there.

Other countries not called the United States of America are completely unaffected by any of this. I hope that clears things up for you.

mike wuerthele

charlesn said:

skippingrock said:

hi, one thing that is not clear for me… does this only affect Apple Watches sold in the USA? For those of us north of the USA board (aka Canada) will the LL/A still be sold, or because most shipments come into Canada via USA, we'll be affected too?

Apple's press team should be all over this with a clear statement about where watches are affected by the ban and what has been disabled in the Watch. True story: an article was published in the NYTimes yesterday under the headline: "Apple To Disable Pulse Readings in Apple Watch." I did a double take, knowing this was absolutely not true, and read the story, where it continued to state, wrongly, that pulse readings would no longer be possible due to patent infringement. And there was no comments section to correct it. I immediately wrote to the author and explained that this was wrong and that only pulse oximetry readings were being disabled which are totally different from pulse readings. He wrote back today admitting the error and said it would be corrected. Apple needs to control the narrative about this and to clarify "gray" situations like the one you desscribe, in which Watches come in through the USA, but are directly transported to other countries for distribution and sales. 

Apple doesn't do this directly. Third parties might, but it seems more likely that they'll turn to non-US sources for a bit right now.

And expecting Apple's press-interfacing folks including PR writers to be clear about anything is unrealistic, unfortunately.

ddawson100

Couple questions: if the pulse oximetry is disabled in software then it shouldn't require new hardware, right? If that's the case, why a different product number? And to that point, would they be able to enable it whichever product number you have purchased?

mike wuerthele

ddawson100 said:

Couple questions: if the pulse oximetry is disabled in software then it shouldn't require new hardware, right? If that's the case, why a different product number? And to that point, would they be able to enable it whichever product number you have purchased?

I'm sure this part number addition is more about SKU management at third parties, and to keep track of which boxes have the feature active and which don't.

They should be able to enable it, when the drama works out with either the courts saying okay, or a settlement.

dope_ahmine

chasm said:

dope_ahmine said:

Good question. The article only states “no longer available on Apple Watch units sold by Apple in the United States”. But that doesn’t automatically mean it’s available elsewhere.

Yes it does. That’s exactly why the qualifier of “sold by Apple in the United States” is in there.

Other countries not called the United States of America are completely unaffected by any of this. I hope that clears things up for you.

The logical deduction of the quote I gave above is 100% clear, and exactly as I stated: it does not automatically mean it’s available elsewhere. You need to brush up on your logics theory, @chasm ;

edited January 2024

nzmac

Why does this dude have is watch upside down on his left wrist.  Makes it hard for the right hand to use the controls. 
#fail

rbnetengr

nzmac said:

Why does this dude have is watch upside down on his left wrist.  Makes it hard for the right hand to use the controls. 
#fail

I use my watch the same way.  With the crown and button facing my wrist, I accidentally engage the buttons when I am wearing gloves and working out in the gym.  Having the controls on the other side prevents this from happening.

I am right handed and have no trouble using the controls in this way.  It took a few times to get used to it, and then it became completely normal for me.

flashfan207

rbnetengr said:

nzmac said:

Why does this dude have is watch upside down on his left wrist.  Makes it hard for the right hand to use the controls. 
#fail

I use my watch the same way.  With the crown and button facing my wrist, I accidentally engage the buttons when I am wearing gloves and working out in the gym.  Having the controls on the other side prevents this from happening.

I am right handed and have no trouble using the controls in this way.  It took a few times to get used to it, and then it became completely normal for me.

I would say it’s almost easier using your thumb to interact with the button and the crown in this configuration than with your finger if the buttons are on the right side.