Apple has updated its online store to denote the modification required to avoid another import ban on Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. Thanks to ongoing litigation with Masimo, Apple has disabled the blood oxygen sensor functionality on new Apple Watch S9 and U2 models sold in the US from today.

Courtesy of Reddit user Confident_Tension_64, MyRadar for iPhone has been updated this month to include support for Apple CarPlay. This means drivers with MyRadar for iOS installed can now view weather radar maps from the car’s screen instead of the iPhone display.

Instagram and Facebook collect your data from thousands of companies, according to an experiment carried out by Consumer Reports.

Separately, the company is the largest reporter of potential child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), but there is a legal problem with the way many of these reports are submitted …

Daring Fireball’s John Gruber has said that Apple’s decision to charge 27% commission on app sales made outside the App Store “reeks of greed and avarice.”

He also backs the view I expressed yesterday that the iPhone maker is putting itself in the firing line of regulators and legislators, while a majority of 9to5Mac commenters appear to disagree …

The second TSMC Arizona chip plant has been delayed, just like the first one. The company had previously said that the plant would come online in 2026, but now says this has been pushed back to 2027 or 2028.

Additionally, the chipmaker says that the second plant – initially set to be making advanced 3nm chips – may also be downgraded to larger-process chips …

As of today, all new and Ultra 2 models sold by Apple do not support the blood oxygen feature. This is due to an ongoing patent dispute with Masimo. But if you are buying an Apple Watch from eBay or a third-party retailer right now, how do you know if your watch will have the blood oxygen feature enabled or not?

Apple is offering a special edition Year of the Dragon AirPods Pro model in China, Hong Kong, and some other countries …

Vision Pro pre-orders begin on Friday, and Apple invited me to New York City this week to spend some more time with its first spatial computer.

Right off the bat, I’ll make it clear that this is not a review. My demo today was around 30 minutes, which is not long enough to draw any firm conclusions. Stay tuned for a full review sometime in the future. That being said, I have a lot of thoughts and impressions that I want to share about my most recent demo.

Before you read this, check out my initial hands-on with Vision Pro from WWDC last year!

Earlier today, a US appeals court rejected Apple’s request to pause the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 ban as the company appeals an ITC ruling that the Apple Watch blood oxygen sensor infringes on two patents held by medical device company Masimo.

Under this decision, Apple will be barred from selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 with pulse oximetry features starting tomorrow, January 18 at 5 p.m. ET.

Apple, however, has a plan. The company tells 9to5Mac that it will begin selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the United States without the blood oxygen feature tomorrow.

Earlier this month, Apple confirmed that it will open its seventh retail store in Seoul’s Mapo District, near Hongik University Station in South Korea. Named Apple Hongdae, the store will open on Saturday, January 20, and the company has now teased what it will look like.

WhatsApp on Wednesday announced an update to its Channels feature, which lets someone broadcast messages to a large number of users who follow that channel. With the update, WhatsApp Channels now support audio messages, polls, and more. Read on as we detail what changes with the update.

A notable omission from Apple’s press release of Vision Pro entertainment apps earlier this week was Netflix. This signalled that the most popular streaming service was not planning on making a native app for the headset.

But it turns out, Netflix is even less interested in supporting the new platform. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company confirmed it is not planning to allow users to run the iPad version of its app on Apple Vision Pro either.

Samsung held its Unpacked event today to announce its latest and greatest Galaxy smartphones including the flagship new S24 Ultra sporting a titanium build like the iPhone 15 Pro. Along with the new phones, Samsung also had a surprise up its sleeve as it teased its first health and fitness tracking ring.

In addition to the 2024 Black Unity Apple Watch band, Apple has added some new Year of the Dragon-themed accessories to its retail inventory.

The Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 with blood oxygen features will be banned from sale in the United States again, effective 5:00 pm ET on January 18, 2024.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has denied Apple’s request to pause the ban for the duration of its appeal of the ITC’s ruling that the devices infringe on two patents held by medical device company Masimo.

AirPods firmware updates. Where do they come from? What do they do? We don’t need the answers to those questions to tell you that updated firmware was just released.

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Apple announced yesterday that US App Store developers may link to alternative payment methods but will still have to pay up to a 27% commission. Now Spotify has shared an official statement on the matter saying the move “flies in the face of the court’s efforts” and urging the EU to prohibit fees for outside link purchases “swiftly.”

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that the US Department of Justice was in the late stages of preparing a major antitrust lawsuit against Apple. Now Bloomberg has reported on the status of the DOJ antitrust effort, reporting that the lawsuit could be filed as early as March.

Remember Apple’s promised iOS 17 feature for using AirPlay from an iPhone directly to a hotel TV? Yeah, that snuck in to the iOS 17.3 release cycle, fulfilling the feature list announced at WWDC 2023 last June.

The first iOS 17.3 release candidate is now available for iPhone users on the beta software update track. Stolen Device Protection is the headlining feature. It’s also the solution to an iPhone theft scheme revealed in a WSJ report last year. We also now have the official release notes for iOS 17.3 and macOS 14.3 Sonoma after reaching the RC stage.

We’re at the halfway point in the week with all of today’s best Apple deals. Everything comes headlined by Amazon refurbished discounts on iPhone 14 Pro from $840. You can also step up to a more premium stainless steel Apple Watch Series 9 at $236 off, with that all-time low coming joined by much of the same status on Apple’s FineWoven MagSafe wallet at $37. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.