Apple is facing yet another lawsuit, this time in a New Jersey federal court. Apparently, the Cupertino tech giant is being sued by a mobile video app maker, which alleges that Apple stole its technology with the Continuity Camera feature.
Apple is now being sued over the Continuity Camera feature
Tech giants often get sued over alleged patent infringements or allegedly stealing features from smaller companies. This lawsuit here is about the Continuity Camera feature that the Cupertino tech giant started offering with iOS 16 back in 2022.
The company that sues Apple is London-based Reincubate. The company released the Camo app in 2020, and the app enabled iPhone and Android smartphones to be used as webcams for video calls you make from your desktop machine or laptop.
As you can probably tell, what Apple's Continuity Camera feature does is similar to this. The feature allows you to use your iPhone as a wireless webcam with a nearby Mac or MacBook that's using the same Apple account.
Image Credit - PhoneArena
Reincubate claims that Apple encouraged it to develop and market Camo for iOS and then later copied what it did and built it into iOS, calling it Continuity Camera.
The lawsuit claims that Apple had actively built a relationship with Reincubate and had induced the company to share technical details, beta versions, and market data. According to the claims in the lawsuit, Apple had used all this knowledge for making the Continuity Camera feature.
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The video app maker claims that Apple did the so-called "Sherlocking", which basically means that Apple built an app or system that copies functionality that a third-party app was previously offering.
Reincubate CEO Aidan Fitzpatrick said that Apple has infringed the company's intellectual property and acted in a way to prevent competition, instead of competing with the Camo app.
Meanwhile, Apple, in a statement, said that it competes fairly and has respected the intellectual property of others. Apple says that the Continuity Camera feature was developed internally by Apple engineers.
Reincubate has also filed the lawsuit as an antitrust claim. The company believes Apple violated U.S. law by locking users into its ecosystem. The firm wants monetary damages and court orders.
What do you think when Apple builds popular third-party ideas into iOS?
Apple and the competiton
Apple isn't new to legal fights that touch on competition and antitrust issues. Big companies in tech often face claims that they use their power in ways that hurt smaller rivals or limit choices for users and developers.
For example, the European Union fined Apple hundreds of millions of euros under the Digital Markets Act for restrictions around its App Store that were seen as limiting fair competition. This includes how developers link to alternative payment options.
There's also been a long-running battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games on antitrust claims.
Meanwhile, Apple has also faced several patent-related cases. For example, medical technology company Masimo successfully argued that Apple's blood oxygen sensor in the Apple Watch infringed its pulse oximetry patents, which even led to a ban on importing the affected watches into the U.S. in 2023.
Apple later brought the feature back through a software redesign that processes the data on a paired iPhone instead of the watch itself. This battle is not entirely over yet.
I like Apple's Continuity Camera feature, but this lawsuit raises questions
Continuity Camera is precisely the kind of feature Apple loves to add. It ties hardware and software together and makes for a smarter ecosystem. Using an iPhone's camera instead of your Mac's webcam is a clear win for quality, and the setup is polished and effortless.
At the same time, it raises questions about where innovation really starts and who gets credit for it. I'm not rushing to judge either side here; we'll have to wait and see how this lawsuit goes.
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Izzy, a tech enthusiast and a key part of the PhoneArena team, specializes in delivering the latest mobile tech news and finding the best tech deals. Her interests extend to cybersecurity, phone design innovations, and camera capabilities. Outside her professional life, Izzy, a literature master's degree holder, enjoys reading, painting, and learning languages. She's also a personal growth advocate, believing in the power of experience and gratitude. Whether it's walking her Chihuahua or singing her heart out, Izzy embraces life with passion and curiosity.
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