Apple releases iOS 18.6.1, watchOS 11.6.1

Written By Jimmy Obomsawin

Today, Apple released iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1, which restores the blood oxygen sensor function to Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2. If you haven’t been following, Apple was sued last year by a company for patent infringement due to this feature, so recent models sold in the US have had the oxygen sensor disabled. This update provides a workaround: the watch will gather sensor data, but the results can only be displayed on your iPhone in the Health app.

Blood oxygen readings have gained public awareness in recent years, as a drop can be an indicator of serious health concerns and sometimes an early sign of a COVID-19 infection.

There may be other minor fixes and security patches, so I do recommend everyone update soon, even if you don’t have one of the above Apple Watch models.

  • To update iPhone, go to the Settings app > General > Software Update.

  • To update Apple Watch, go to the Watch app on your iPhone, then General > Software Update.

Jimmy Obomsawin https://jimmytechsf.com
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