Hours after the US Court of Appeals paused an import ban concerning the Apple Watch Series 9 and second-generation Apple Watch Ultra, Apple has resumed sales of both models. According to The Verge, both the Series 9 and Ultra 2 will be available in some Apple stores as early as today, with more stock arriving on Saturday. The two models will also be available from Apple’s online store by 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 28th.
“Apple’s teams have worked tirelessly over many years to develop technology that empowers users with industry-leading health, wellness and safety features and we are pleased the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal,” Apple’s Nikki Rothberg told The Verge.
On Wednesday morning, the federal appeals court granted Apple’s request for an interim stay. As a result, the government is being “directed not to enforce the Remedial Orders until further notice while the court considers the motion for a stay pending appeal.”
The court also granted Apple’s request for a five-day extension — from January 5 to January 10, 2024 — to file its response to the motion for a stay pending appeal.
While this case is far from being resolved, this pause should give Apple enough time to execute a backup plan while it awaits further developments. After all, third-party retailers were allowed to continue selling their supply of watches while the ban was in place. Presumably, Apple will ensure that those retailers have a chance to stock up on units in the coming days in the event that sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are banned again in the future.
UPDATE: 12/28 | On December 28th, Apple began selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 on its online store again, as it said it would. Deliveries look to be arriving as early as next Tuesday, January 2, at least for the models we checked.
