Apple Settles 'FlickType' Developer Lawsuit Over App Store Treatment
Prominent developer Kosta Eleftheriou has settled his 2021 lawsuit against Apple over its App Store review actions that he said hindered his ability to distribute apps on the platform while allowing copycat competitors to flourish, reports TechCrunch.
In his lawsuit, Eleftheriou complained that Apple repeatedly threw up "roadblock after roadblock" against his FlickType keyboard app for the Apple Watch, only to then allow copycat apps from other developers onto the store. Eleftheriou said that he had been in discussions with Apple about the company acquiring FlickType, and he believes Apple was intentionally targeting his app in the review process to try to force him to sell it at a discount.
Following the filing of the case last year, the two parties participated in court calls with a judge, the court docket shows, including as recently as this spring. A request for dismissal of the lawsuit was subsequently filed on July 21, 2022, after Apple and Kpaw (Eleftheriou’s business) came to an agreement.
Eleftheriou was unable to comment on the terms of the settlement. Apple was not immediately able to comment on the dismissal either.
Eleftheriou has been one of the higher-profile critics of Apple's App Store policies, repeatedly pointing out App Store scams that have slipped through the review process and even into the store's charts of top-performing apps without Apple taking action.
Apple has taken some steps to improve the ability for users to flag problematic apps, such as by bringing back the "Report a Problem" button on App Store listings, but Eleftheriou says he continues to find scam and copycat apps with only minimal effort.
Popular Stories
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
Following over three months of beta testing, iOS 18 will finally be widely released to the public this Monday, September 16. The update should be available to install tomorrow starting at around 10 a.m. Pacific Time (1 p.m. Eastern Time) in the Settings app under General → Software Update on the iPhone XS and newer. Below, we have highlighted eight key new features included in iOS 18, and...
Following its iPhone 16 event on Monday, Apple shared a PDF on its website with a list of all new features and changes coming with iOS 18. The list includes many features that were already announced, including Apple Intelligence, new customization options for the Home Screen and Control Center, a redesigned Photos app, several enhancements to the Messages app, a Passwords app, and more....
Apple began accepting pre-orders for all four new iPhone 16 models today, and shipping estimates for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max on Apple's online store in the U.S. are already beginning to slip into October for many configurations. As of 6:45 a.m. Pacific Time, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max were facing a 2-4 week shipping delay for some configurations on Apple's online store, with...
iOS 18 will be released to the public on Monday, but the first Apple Intelligence features will not be available until iOS 18.1 is released in October. Apple Intelligence features will continue to roll out in iOS 18.2 and beyond, with the expected roadmap outlined below per Apple's website and rumors. Apple Intelligence requires an iPhone 15 Pro model or any iPhone 16 model, and it will...
Apple will likely hold another event in October this year to announce new Macs and iPads. If so, it would be the fourth time in the last five years that Apple has held an event in October. Last year, Apple held a virtual event on Monday, October 30 to announce new MacBook Pro and iMac models with the M3 series of chips. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated...
Best Buy kicked off a new weekend sale today, and we've already covered all of the big savings you can find on M2 iPad Pro. In addition to these tablet deals, Best Buy has steep discounts on Apple's M3 MacBook Pro and M2 MacBook Air, including a new all-time low price on the entry-level M3 512GB 14-inch MacBook Pro at $1,199.00 for My Best Buy Plus/Total members, down from $1,599.00. M3...
