In a race against time, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has reportedly been strategizing to salvage its $17 billion smartwatch enterprise in the face of a U.S. ban set to be enforced in a few days. What Happened: Apple has braced itself for an impending ban imposed by the International Trade Commission, that poses a risk to its smartwatch operations. The ban is due to come into effect on Dec. 25. To save the business, the tech giant’s engineers have been laboring to tweak algorithms that gauge users’ blood oxygen levels — a feature that Masimo Corp. (NASDAQ:MASI) accuses Cupertino of infringing upon …