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When Apple released iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 last week, bringing Blood Oxygen monitoring to previously excluded models following a U.S. Customs and Border Protection approval that allowed Apple to move forward with the “redesigned” experience on those devices, we had a gut feeling that patent troll Masimo wouldn’t let that go very far without a fight.

The new ruling effectively circumvented a previous ruling made by the International Trade Commission, which said that Apple couldn’t sell Apple Watches with a functional on-device Blood Monitoring feature, as the technology that Apple was using was found to infringe on pulse-oximetry patents held by medical technology company Masimo. If they didn’t comply, they wouldn’t be able to import the devices and sell them in the U.S.

Apple’s long-term solution was to keep the hardware on affected Apple Watches, but to use software to disable it. Up until just last week, owners of Apple Watches purchased after that ruling didn’t have a way to monitor their Blood Oxygen level, while Apple Watches sold before that ruling have enjoyed access to this feature even up until now.

And that’s exactly what the iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 software updates were released for – to re-enable the hardware. On the other hand, the user experience has been “redesigned” from that on the original Apple Watches that sill have the feature, as monitoring occurs on the host iPhone rather than on the Apple Watch itself.

Somewhat expectedly, however, Masimo isn’t too happy that Apple found a way to keep using the supposedly ‘patent-infringed’ tech. Masimo has officially filed a lawsuit this week against U.S. Customs and Border Protection in an attempt to halt the aforementioned approval that Apple scored, which could have far-reaching consequences.

Litigation could take some time. If Masimo wins, then Apple could be forced to disable the feature on affected Apple Watches yet again; but if Apple wins, then Masimo may have to grin and bear the loss, effectively dealing with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection nod in Apple’s favor.

It will be interesting to see what happens next, as we’re sure many Apple Watch users have been waiting for the return of this feature, and attempts to take it away from them again is sure to anger those customers.

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/08/21/masimo-sues-u-s-customs-border-protection-apple-watch-blood-oxygen-monitoring/

Learn how to get a notification when your iPhone uses Adaptive Power Mode to extend your battery life, which may cause apps to run slower and the device to lag.

Apple’s iOS 26 operating system brings Adaptive Power Mode, an intelligent battery saver mode that extends battery life when your device usage is abnormal. This new power management option is in addition to Low Power Mode, which temporarily suspends many background activities to make your iPhone last longer.

However, Adaptive Power Mode makes smaller adjustments that don’t affect your iPhone’s performance as drastically as Low Power Mode. Here’s how to toggle the Adaptive Power notification if you’d like to know when Adaptive Power Mode has reduced the device’s performance.

How to toggle the Adaptive Power Mode notification

You can manage the Adaptive Power Mode feature and notification in the Power Mode section in your iPhone’s battery settings, provided you’re running iOS 26.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Navigate to Battery ⇾ Power Mode.
3. Turn on the Adaptive Power and Adaptive Power Notifications switches.

If you turn on this switch, your iPhone will show a notification when Adaptive Power Mode has decreased device performance to conserve battery life, saying “iPhone is adjusting performance to help extend your battery life.” The notification shows up on the Lock Screen when the device is locked and during active use. Apple’s description suggests that Adaptive Power Mode doesn’t engage when you have sufficient battery charge and the battery doesn’t drain faster than usual.

How does Adaptive Power Mode work?

Adaptive Power Mode, turned off by default, makes smaller performance tweaks than Low Power Mode. “When your battery usage is higher than usual, iPhone can extend your battery life by making performance adjustments, such as lowering display brightness, allowing some activities to take longer or turning on Low Power Mode at 20%,” according to Apple’s description.

Adaptive Power Mode uses artificial intelligence to dynamically adjust device performance, meaning it only works on devices that are compatible with Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 lineup)

Make your iPhone last longer

There are many iPhone battery saving tips to stretch your battery life, like keeping Low Power Mode turned on all the time with a little help from a Shortcuts automation. Personally, I don’t like to keep Low Power Mode turned on throughout the day as its heavy restrictions make my device way too laggy for my taste.

But Adaptive Power Mode doesn’t throttle your device so drastically, and it’s a feature that automatically kicks in when needed without deactivating a lot of background activities and features such as Background App Refresh, mail fetch, Always-on display, iCloud syncing, 5G data, as well as display refresh rate (ProMotion) and brightness.

However, keep in mind that Adaptive Power Mode can also turn on Low Power Mode with all its performance adjustments when the battery charge drops to 20%, which is when iOS automatically turns on Low Power Mode anyway.

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/08/21/apple-ios-26-iphone-adaptive-power-notification-tutorial/