yo so basically Apple Watch fall detection is in the spotlight again but not in a fun way
So 9to5Mac said the ITC (that big US trade commission that can mess with imports) just opened a patent investigation that includes Apple Watch because of the fall detection feature. The company complaining is called UnaliWear and they’re saying a bunch of wearables with fall detection are stepping on their patents. And it’s not just Apple either, it’s like the whole smartwatch squad, Samsung Google Garmin etc
And the reason this is kinda scary is because Apple has been here before. Like remember the Apple Watch blood oxygen thing with Masimo where there was literally an import ban in the US for a bit. This new case isn’t that exact thing, but the vibe is similar. If UnaliWear wins they’re asking for stuff like an exclusion order (aka stop importing) and also stop selling certain devices already in the US, which is pretty intense honestly
My take: I hate when good safety features get caught up in patent drama. Fall detection is one of those things that’s actually helpful like for older people or even clumsy people (me) so I really don’t want Apple to have to disable it or do some weird workaround. Also its wild how Apple Watch keeps ending up in these health feature fights, like their trying to save lives and also getting sued at the same time
Anyway we’ll see what happens next but yeah this is one of those “please don’t mess up the Apple Watch” moments