A look at the lawsuit over Kosta Elefteriou's FlickType app for Apple Watch that he claims Apple had offered to buy, as Apple unveils its own swipe keyboard
The VergeSean Hollister
Context & Ripple Effects
Kosta Elefteriou had already built a public profile calling out Apple for approving scam and copycat apps before filing his fraud and unfair-competition suit in March 2021 over FlickType, an accessibility-focused swipe keyboard for Apple Watch that Apple rejected while allegedly approving imitations. The timing detail at the center of this piece — that Apple had reportedly offered to buy the app before shipping its own swipe keyboard — turns a routine rejection story into a self-dealing narrative.
The arc matters because it is not unprecedented for Apple here: back in 2015 it quietly acquired the Dryft keyboard app rather than compete against one, so buying versus building is a live strategic fork for Apple's keyboard ambitions — and Elefteriou's claim puts the fork under legal scrutiny.
First-order effects
Apple's newly unveiled Watch swipe keyboard now competes head-to-head with the very category it rejected FlickType for, giving Elefteriou's lawsuit a concrete exhibit: the platform owner shipping the feature after turning away the independent version.
Elefteriou gains leverage in court — the buy-offer claim reframes Apple's rejection-and-copycat sequence from bad review hygiene into potential unfair competition.
Second-order effects
Other developers whose apps were rejected only to see Apple ship equivalents now have a litigation template and a sympathetic precedent to point to, raising the cost of Apple's opaque review decisions.
Apple faces pressure to either settle or defend its App Store review process publicly — which is where the case ultimately landed, with filings later showing an Apple settlement with Eleftheriou.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds — platform owner rejects an indie app, absorbs its function, settles when challenged — App Store review shifts from a quality-control question to an antitrust-grade self-preferencing question regulators can act on.
Small developers' realistic paths narrow to two: sell early when a platform giant signals interest, or litigate after being displaced — both routes concentrating watchOS software further around Apple's own catalog.
The trend: Platform owners are increasingly absorbing the functionality of independent apps they reject, and lawsuits like FlickType's are turning App Store review opacity into a legal and regulatory battleground.
What a professional letter to Apple who annoyed him for years and stole his keyboard. Not one F U , or I hope you rot in hell. Original Article: https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@keleftheriou God bless for your fight. It must not be easy to go against such a Giant (if not the biggest of them all) but all my kudos for u and a thx to Verge. This all “story” is a god dam shame and the saddest stain in a company that just...shouldn't! https://www.theverge.co…
You innovate on their platform. They like what they see. They change their rules to shut you down or make it very difficult to compete. Then copy and integrate deep into their ecosystem. #anticompetitive #InnovationAwards #sherlocked @keleftheriou https://www.theverge.com/...
@verge I'm not sure how the courts will see this, but - aside from the actual mechanics (ie the coding, which presumably Apple wrote from scratch), nothing about the new Watch keyboard seems innovative or non-obvious - if you're putting a keyboard on it, this is just how you'd d…
.@flicktype you are a damn hero doing work that is long overdue. Please be encouraged! Real developers everywhere (not just those chained up at giant corporations with sweetheart @apple deals) everywhere are with you. If there's any justice you will WIN! https://www.theverge.com/…
@tim_cook how come with the billions you make you have to stick the knife in the little guy and twist it? I'm as Apple as they come (2 macs, iPhone 12, iPad Pro 2021, Apple Watch) but you make me sick when you do shit like this. https://www.theverge.com/...