Apple faces claims to ban third-party heart rate apps from Apple Watch

A federal judge in California said on Monday that Apple must face charges that it illegally monopolized the U.S. market for its Apple Watch heart-rate monitoring app.

AliveCor, a company that sells the electrocardiogram "KardiaBand" for Apple Watch, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in May 2021, accusing Cupertino of changing the heart rate algorithm of Apple Watch to obtain "unfair competitive advantage”. competitors, while endangering the lives of AliveCor users.

Apple’s decision to exclude third-party heart rate analysis providers from the Apple Watch harms AliveCor and affects patients and consumers. To accompany the KardiaBand, AliveCor created the SmartRhythm app, which uses data from the Apple Watch's heart rate algorithm to determine when the heart rate is irregular and recommends people use the KardiaBand for an EKG.

Apple launched the Apple Watch Series 4 with built-in EKG functionality, followed by its own irregular heart rhythm notifications. AliveCor claims that Apple saw the success of KardiaBand and changed the functionality of watchOS to undermine KardiaBand and "monopolize the Apple Watch heart rate analysis market."

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said Monday that AliveCor may try to prove that Apple violated federal antitrust laws based on its "complete control" of the market for such apps.

"AliveCor claims that Apple made changes to the heart rate algorithm that made it virtually impossible for third parties to notify users when to take an electrocardiogram," or electrocardiogram, White wrote. "Plaintiffs' allegations plausibly establish that Apple's conduct was anticompetitive."

However, White dismissed another of AliveCor's claims that Apple had an illegal monopoly on ECG-enabled smartwatches. , because AliveCor's KardiaBand wristband "complements but does not compete" in that market, he said.

Apple and its lawyers have not yet responded to the ruling. AliveCor has previously filed multiple patent infringement lawsuits against Apple, accusing Apple of copying AliveCor's heart detection and analysis technology. Those lawsuits have yet to be resolved, and today's ruling allows AliveCor to seek damages and the possibility of an injunction requiring Apple to cease its perceived monopolistic practices.

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