Masimo, a prominent player in the medical tech sector, has taken a stride into the consumer-friendly devices market with the launch of the Freedom smartwatch, featuring blood oxygen monitoring. This move comes after the company’s recent patent dispute with tech giant Apple, where Masimo’s legal action led to the removal of the blood oxygen feature from Apple’s latest Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 devices in the US.
While Masimo had previously introduced health-centric wearables like the Masimo W1 in 2023, the new Freedom smartwatch appears to be a strategic shift, aiming for a broader audience beyond the health-focused market.
The Masimo Freedom smartwatch, although incorporating a smart design with features such as notifications, remains centered around health functionality. It represents a departure from Masimo’s traditional focus on medical technology, signaling a foray into consumer-friendly gadgets.
An exclusive look at a prototype of the Masimo Freedom during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 in Las Vegas by The Verge showcased distinctive features compared to Apple’s offerings. The watch boasts a round display, a navigation touchbar on the right-hand side, and a small button for object selection. Notably, Masimo’s smartwatch lacks Apple’s trademark Digital Crown or a rotating bezel.
Eugene Goldberg, Masimo’s president of consumer health, emphasized that the primary goal of the Freedom smartwatch is to showcase the precision of the company’s health-monitoring technology. He explained that Masimo’s blood oxygen technology surpasses that of competitors due to its ability to account for various factors such as motion, low perfusion, skin pigmentation, or impaired blood flow.
