San Francisco: Apple’s decision to stop selling two of the latest models of Apple Watches — Series 9 and Ultra 2 — in the US this week could cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars, media reports said.
As estimated by Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, if Apple moves ahead with its plan to stop selling the two smartwatches, the decision will likely cost Apple about $300-400 million in holiday-season sales, reports Insider.
That’s a relative drop as analysts are expecting Apple to generate close to $120 billion in sales during the October-December period, including the holiday shopping season.
The sales suspension on the two Apple Watch models “doesn’t move the needle much for the company, but still, it couldn’t have come at a worse possible time,” Ives was quoted as saying.
So far, Apple’s stock hasn’t been significantly affected by the sales suspension on the two watch models, remaining near its record high, the report noted.
“Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers,” a representative for Apple was quoted as saying.
“Should the order stand, Apple will continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the US as soon as possible,” it added.
Apple’s decision to stop selling the smartwatches came after a recent ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC), as part of a long-running patent dispute between Apple and medical technology company Masimo around the Watch’s blood oxygen sensor (SpO2 sensor) technology.
The company said it’s to preemptively comply with an ITC import ban following the patent dispute.
The ITC announced its ruling in October, upholding a judge’s decision from January.
Masimo, known for its pulse oximeter, filed two separate cases, claiming that Apple infringed on its pulse oximetry technology.
Both the newly-launched Apple Watches will no longer be available to purchase online from December 21, reports 9to5Mac. In-store inventory will no longer be available at retail stores after December 24.
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