The departure of Joe Kiani as CEO of Masimo means that Apple lawyers have the opportunity to bring back blood-oxygen sensing on smartwatches
Former Masimo CEO Joe Kiani was the driving force behind the banning of Apple Watch sales of any model featuring an oximeter in the U.S. due to a patent infringement. However, things have taken a drastic turn following a proxy battle with an activist hedge fund that forced the removal of Kiani as Chief Executive, with Michelle Brennan named interim CEO. A report now states that this is an opportune moment for Apple and Masimo lawyers to arrange a meeting and discuss terms on how blood-oxygen sensing could return to compatible smartwatches.One way for Apple and Masimo to bury the hatchet would be to integrate the company’s popular hospital equipment with the Health app
The Cupertino firm and Masimo could have reached a settlement agreement before as Kiani was open to that idea, but it appears that talks never matured. With Masimo’s founder no longer at the primary seat, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman states in the latest edition of his ‘Power On’ newsletter that these turn of events present a golden opportunity for both entities.
