When the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 are officially banned in the U.S. on December 25th, 2023, the tech giant will no longer be able to offer out-of-warranty repairs.
The nature of the Apple Watch’s design results in most repairs requiring a complete replacement of the smartwatch rather than an individual component. However, after the 25th, Apple will no longer be able to offer replacement devices. According to MacRumors and Bloomberg, Apple shared this news with its retail employees in an internal memo released last week.
“Product replacement (CRU) programs aren’t available in the United States for the watches below: Apple Watch Series 6 or later, Apple Watch Ultra or later,” says the memo (via MacRumors).
You might be wondering why Apple can’t offer replacements for the Series 6 or later even though its patent dispute with medical equipment company Masimo is focused on the Series 9 and Ultra 2. That’s because the tech giant can’t offer replacements for any out-of-warranty Apple Watch models that feature a blood oxygen sensor, which includes the Series 6 or later and the original Apple Watch.
Apple will halt in-store sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 on December 24th. Online sales of both smartwatches have already stopped in the United States.
The patent dispute is under a 60-day Presidential Review period ending next week. Apple volunteered to pull the Series 9 and Ultra 2 from store shelves ahead of the impending U.S. ban. The ban will only affect the U.S. market and third-party retailers will still be able to sell both Apple watch models until their stock runs out.
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