Apple Loses Antitrust Ruling Over Heart Monitor App Market

Apple Inc. must face antitrust litigation over its alleged scheme to corner the market for smartphone apps capable of monitoring a user’s pulse for potentially life-threatening cardiac irregularities, a federal judge in Oakland, Calif., ruled.

Judge Jeffrey S. White advanced most of the lawsuit by AliveCor Inc., which has accused the tech giant of implementing software changes to its Apple Watch operating system aimed at undermining the SmartRhythm app, forcing the developer to pull the product from the market over safety concerns.

White, writing for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, cited claims that Apple intentionally ...