If you've been following Apple's totally unexpected legal issues of the last couple of months concerning the blood oxygen monitoring of probably the best smartwatches in the world right now, you may already know that the company itself has recently started to sell Series 9 and Ultra 2 models with the contested pulse oximeter disabled.Curiously enough, the situation continues to be different for the likes of Amazon and Best Buy, as third-party retailers are still allowed to offer their customers fully featured and fully functional wearable devices released in 2023.Even better, those exact retailers are currently charging a cool 70 bucks less than usual for such an unhampered Apple Watch Ultra 2 unit. If you're the proud owner of an iPhone that you want to pair with an outdoor-friendly smartwatch therefore, now is probably the time to pull the trigger... as long as you're not very picky about the color and size of your new wearable's band.

Both Amazon and Best Buy have a few different models in stock at the time of this writing at the same substantially reduced price, but some hues and sizes are either not discounted at all or marked down by less than $70.

Keep in mind that the rugged Apple Watch Ultra 2 normally costs $799, which kind of makes this new price cut feel a lot less momentous than it might seem at first glance. But while we've seen the device more steeply discounted in the past, there's no guarantee that will happen again in the near future, and if Best Buy and Amazon run out of inventory, they'll need to start selling units without working blood oxygen technology. 

That will still leave you with a bunch of other super-advanced sensors and potentially life-saving health tools, as well as a Retina display like no other on the market today, not to mention stellar battery life (by normal Apple Watch standards), but why make any compromises when... you don't really have to?

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.

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