Apple Emerges Victorious in AliveCor Lawsuit Over Heart-Rate Apps for Apple Watch

AliveCor Accused Apple of Allegedly ‘Updating’ Heart Rate Algorithm on Apple Watches to Thwart Third-Party Detection of Irregular Heartbeats.

Apple persuaded a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by a Silicon Valley startup accusing it of illegally monopolizing the US market for heart rate monitoring apps for its Apple Watch.

US District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland, California, ruled on Tuesday against AliveCor, which had developed an app for detecting irregular heartbeats.

It accused Apple of violating the federal Sherman antitrust law and a California unfair competition law.

The decision explaining White’s reasoning is temporarily being kept under seal because of confidentiality concerns.

“AliveCor is deeply disappointed and strongly disagrees with the court’s decision to dismiss our anti-competition case and we plan to appeal,” the company said in a statement.

Apple said in a statement that the lawsuit challenged its ability to make improvements to the Apple Watch that consumers and develop

ers rely on. “Today’s outcome confirms that is not anticompetitive,” it said.

In an amended complaint, AliveCor alleged that Apple had initially indicated collaboration on heart-monitoring technology for the Apple Watch, only to subsequently adopt its concepts and launch a “concentrated campaign” to dominate the heart rate analysis market.

The complaint further accused Apple of modifying the heart rate algorithm on its watches to hinder third parties from detecting irregular heartbeats and developing competing apps.

AliveCor had developed the KardiaBand, a wristband for the Apple Watch capable of recording electrocardiograms (ECGs). Additionally, the company created the Kardia app for analyzing ECG readings on Apple Watches, along with the SmartRhythm heart rate analysis app powered by artificial intelligence.

Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, California, has refuted the allegations, asserting that competitors do not have the authority to dictate its design choices.

AliveCor continues to pursue separate patent infringement claims against Apple.

The case is AliveCor Inc v Apple Inc, US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 21-03958.