Apple rejects other smartwatch apps

By John – Patrick Gerard Thackeray

With the dawn of the iWatch, companies have been keen to jump on board to take a bite out of Apple’s new product launch.

One such company, third-party mobile platform provider Pebble, has seen approval of apps for its platform cut in half as Apple wants the focus to be on the iWatch.

The developer that creates the popular app “SeaNav Us” recently received an email from the App Store informing him that his app was no longer welcome because it mentions Pebble.

“We have just had the latest version of our SeaNav US iOS app rejected by Apple because we support the Pebble Smartwatch,” wrote the developer in a post on the official Pebble forum.

For a long time, Apple has not allowed apps in the store that deter users from products or services Apple makes or distributes. A good example was in 2011, when Stephen Schwartz filed a complaint against Apple stating that it “unlawfully discouraged iPhone customers from downloading competing applications software.”

Apple responded by saying that some of these apps would damage users’ iPhones and void warranties. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed the case against Apple.

As technology companies such as Google, LG and Motorola move into their third and fourth versions of smartwatches, Apple is coming from behind with a solid product that may yet again prove there is no stopping the California tech firm, because its loyal fan base has already put Apple stock on a high. But some analysts have called into question Apple’s now decreasing originality, with the likes of Microsoft becoming an unlikely innovator under new CEO Satya Nadella.