Two days after Apple was forced to remove both the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 from store shelves, the wearables will be reinstated after a federal appeals court issued a temporary stay However, the duration of the suspension is still unknown

Still, for now, both watches are available in select brick-and-mortar stores starting today, with wider availability expected by the weekend For those who prefer to buy online, Applecom will resume sales at 3 pm ET today [The company told Tom's Guide, "We are excited to bring the full Apple Watch lineup to our customers as we start the New Year [We are pleased that the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request that the order be stayed pending our full appeal

If you've been too engrossed in your vacation activities to follow the story, Apple was initially barred from selling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 after the US International Trade Commission found that both products infringed on medical device manufacturer Masimo's patent for blood oxygen monitoring

As a result, the only wearable that shoppers visiting Apple stores after Christmas could purchase was the Apple Watch SE, which does not support this feature and is therefore exempt from the court order Third-party retailers with existing inventory were not affected, but Apple staff were reportedly not allowed to share this information with prospective buyers

The resumption of operations is not strictly an end to the sales ban, but a temporary suspension The next showdown date is January 12, when US Customs will rule on whether the software changes made to the Apple Watch are sufficient to resolve the issue

If the court finds otherwise - which Masimo argues is about core hardware and not something that can be resolved by patching - the ban could be put on hold until a final ruling on the patent dispute is made, which could take several months It may take several months

If the court ultimately rules against Apple, the company will be put in the awkward position of having to modify the hardware within future wearables or else may have to pay a hefty fee to license its existing technology

Neither of these outcomes would be pleasant for Apple, which is celebrating its 10th birthday since the launch of the original Apple Watch Unfortunately for the company, however, the story is far from over