Apple brings blood oxygen monitoring back to Apple Watch

Pilots who fly with newer Apple Watch models lost the ability to use its built-in blood oxygen monitoring feature in early 2024. This resulted after Apple lost a patent fight and was forced to remove the Oxygen app on new Apple Series 9, 10 and Ultra 2 watch models.

A year and a half later, Apple worked out a deal that allowed it to restore the blood oxygen sensor in these newer Apple Watch models. The catch is that if your Apple Watch was manufactured during the time period of the dispute, it must be paired with and in range of your iPhone to complete the measurement and view the results. This is because Apple’s workaround involves using the Watch’s sensors to measure the blood oxygen data on your wrist, and then use the iPhone to complete the analysis and display the results.

If your Watch falls in this production range, you’ll need to use the Health app on your iPhone to view both your real-time and historical oxygen saturation data. After opening the Health app on your iPhone, select the Browse tab at the lower right, and then tap Respiratory. You’ll see the latest Oxygen % readout at the top, and you can then tap on it to view your past readings.

To bring this feature back to your Watch, first ensure your iPhone is updated to iOS 18.6.1 (or later) and your Apple Watch is updated to watchOS 11.6.1. Then follow the steps mentioned above to view your Oxygen readings in the Health app on your iPhone if you don’t see the Oxygen app on your Watch.

There was no impact to Apple Watch units previously purchased that include the original Blood Oxygen feature, meaning users with these Apple Watch models should still be able to use the Oxygen app on their Apple Watch and view the saturation % right from the dedicated Oxygen Watch app.

To learn more about using an Apple Watch in the cockpit, check out our in-depth article, which also includes our favorite aviation apps for the Apple Watch. These allow you to view moving maps, weather, and flight tracking data right from your wrist.

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Bret Koebbe

Bret is a senior vice president at Sporty's and senior flight instructor for Sporty's Academy. In addition to Bret's teaching responsibilities, Bret leads Sporty's video production and app development team and serves as editor of iPad Pilot News. As an airline transport pilot, Bret is a senior captain in Sporty's corporate flight department.

Latest posts by Bret Koebbe (see all)

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