AliveCor Files Antitrust Suit Against Apple for Preventing Third-Party Irregular Heart Rhythm Analysis on Apple Watch

AliveCor, a company that that has developed an ECG 'KardiaBand' for the Apple Watch, today filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple that accuses the Cupertino company of "monopolistic conduct."

According to AliveCor, Apple's decision to exclude third-party heart rate analysis providers from the Apple Watch has harmed AliveCor and impacted patients and consumers. To go along with the KardiaBand, AliveCor created the SmartRhythm app, which uses data from the Apple Watch's heart rate algorithm to determine when a heart rate is irregular and suggest people take an ECG with the KardiaBand.

The KardiaBand received FDA approval in 2017, and in 2018, Apple debuted the Apple Watch Series 4 with built-in ECG capabilities and its own irregular heart rhythm notifications followed. AliveCor claims that Apple saw the success of the KardiaBand and changed the functionality of watchOS to sabotage KardiaBand and "corner the market for heart rate analysis on Apple Watch."

AliveCor claims that the SmartRhythm app was initially allowed in the App Store, but Apple later claimed that it violated ‌App Store‌ guidelines. AliveCor says that it was forced to adapt SmartRhythm multiple times to adjust to Apple's rules, and then Apple "made changes to watchOS's heart rate algorithm" to ensure that SmartRhythm and other competing apps would not work. Apple allegedly changed the heart rate algorithm in watchOS 5 to prevent third-party apps from being able to identify irregular heart rate situations.

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