Once again, Apple has been caught using its power over the App Store to give itself an edge over the competition. However, in this case, the victim is a small independent studio and not a giant corporate app developer.
During Apple’s recent ‘California Streaming’ event, the tech giant revealed that watchOS 8 with Apple Watch Series 7 includes support for a full keyboard. This is an exciting addition for Apple Watch users, as responding to messages from the wearable device has never been a great experience.
With that in mind, Apple is far from the first company to launch an application that allows users to do this. In August, developer Kosta Eleftheriou released an app called ‘Flick Type’ that brings a full keyboard to the Apple Watch. This app has been around for a few months, but recently Apple pulled it from the App Store, stating that keyboard apps are not allowed on the Apple Watch.
So now we know. I see you in court @Apple. https://t.co/hJtPI2Z83J pic.twitter.com/1s7MUSLTpc
– Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) September 14, 2021
Given that Apple followed this move with its own watchOS 8 Apple Watch keyboard, the timing is more than a little interesting. It’s worth noting that Apple’s new keyboard is only available on the Apple Watch Series 7 because it features a slightly larger screen. The Eeftheriou app, on the other hand, works on older Apple watches and became quite popular. A few millimeters of extra screen space is unlikely to really make much of a difference to the typing experience.
This is not the first time Apple has done something like this. For example, Apple removed all Flashlight apps in the iPhone 4s era, and last year, password lock apps were also concerned that the company had plans to alienate users from its apps.
In a recent tweet, Eeftheriou says that he plans to initiate a lawsuit against Apple related to the company’s anti-competitive behavior. In other Apple-related news, while the dust is still settling around the court case, it is widely believed that the recent Epic v. Apple will allow developers to offer external payment options outside of the App Store.
Source: @keleftheriou Via: Input