Apple sued over watchOS keyboard
FlickType founder Kosta Eleftheriou is suing Apple over its new typing feature on the Watch 7, which he claims is similar to FlickType’s watchOS keyboard.
Eleftheriou, the software developer whose team was responsible for FlickType, has filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that Apple used its authority over the App Store to impede its advancement.
FlickType enables users to type directly on their watch face, and its developers say that Apple applauded the technology and introduced it at Apple’s headquarters in 2019.
Following the presentation, “Apple threw up roadblock after roadblock that made no sense”, the lawsuit stated.
The obstacles placed by Apple resulted in FlickType being kept off the App Store for almost a year.
Once it made it onto the App Store successfully, the application was then impaired by “scam applications” which allegedly used fake reviews to boost downloads.
FlickType is also suing Apple for fraud.
“Apple’s promise to help developers build, test, market, and distribute their products and grow their business through a secure, trusted, and accessible marketplace is just a facade designed to wrongfully entice developers to the App Store,” the lawsuit says.
Following the Apple Watch 7’s release, Eleftheriou tweeted the news of Apple’s new typing feature on the smartwatch and included a video from January 2021 showing FlickType’s functionality to be almost identical to Apple’s version.
Apple: “An Apple Watch first — a new QWERTY keyboard lets you tap or slide from letter to letter”
FlickType: https://t.co/cKWj024VFx
— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) September 14, 2021
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