You may not be able to snag a new Apple Watch this holiday season, thanks to the tech behemoth's patent dispute with a lesser-known company, Masimo, over a blood oxygen tracker.
The iPhone maker is set to remove the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from its physical and online stores by Christmas Eve. The move comes after the International Trade Commission ruled in October that these latest watch versions include a blood oxygen tracker that violates patents held by Masimo, a health technology company.
"This is not an accidental infringement," Joe Kiani, the CEO and founder of Masimo, told Bloomberg. "This is a deliberate taking of our intellectual property." Kiani didn't respond to Business Insider's immediate request for comment before publication of this story.
The news has spurred many to ask how it'll affect Apple — with one analyst estimating it could cost the company between $300 to $400 million in sales — or indeed shoppers missing out on the new gadget. But there's another question that's surfacing: Who is Kiani, the Masimo leader going head-to-head with Apple? Scroll to find out more.