The New Apple Watches Are Here. You Should Probably Upgrade

Blood oxygen sensor controversies aside, improved battery life, new hypertension notifications, and the addition of satellite messaging are all good reasons to get a new Apple Watch this year.

Let us address the elephant in the room: This has been a difficult few years for the Apple Watch.

Since 2023, its blood oxygen sensing feature has been mired in an ongoing series of patent infringement lawsuits. Right before this year’s Apple Event, the company finally launched a workaround via a software update that allows you to check your blood oxygen on your phone, instead of on the watch itself. That didn’t stop Masimo, the medtech company that alleges that Apple copied the feature, from suing US Borders and Custom Protection for allowing Apple to reactivate the feature.

The lawsuits cast a pall over last year’s Watch ...