Apple Watch Ultra 3 VS Amazon Kindle
Verdict DROP IT BUY IT
The Reality The feature has a real, documented history of simply not being available to US buyers. After the US International Trade Commission ruled the blood oxygen sensor infringed two Masimo patents, Apple disabled blood oxygen sensing on US-sold Apple Watches in January 2024 to keep selling the watch at all, and it stayed off for roughly a year and a half. In August 2025 Apple restored a redesigned version -- but the workaround processes the sensor's raw data on a paired iPhone rather than the watch itself, and results can only be viewed on the iPhone, not the watch face. The ITC formally closed the case in April 2026, ending Masimo's ability to revive the ban, but the underlying legal fight ran for over two years. A real Hacker News thread titled "All Kindles can now be jailbroken" reached 1,377 points and 423 comments — a large real reaction specifically about the device's software restrictions and DRM, not its reading experience. That's a genuinely relevant reality check on a device marketed around simplicity: the depth of real community effort to jailbreak it suggests real user frustration with the locked-down software, not just niche tinkering interest.
SHORT ANSWER
Apple Watch Ultra 3: Apple Watch's blood oxygen feature was legally disabled for US buyers for about 20 months (January 2024-August 2025) after Apple lost a patent case to Masimo, and its restored version now only works by processing data on a paired iPhone rather than the watch itself.
Amazon Kindle: Amazon Kindle hardware is well-regarded, but a real 1,377-point Hacker News thread about jailbreaking every Kindle model shows genuine, substantial user frustration with its locked-down DRM and software restrictions — a real trade-off to know about before buying, not marketing spin.