BOULDER, Colo. (Reuters) – In April 2019, Tile.com, which helps users find lost or misplaced items, suddenly found itself competing with Apple Inc, after years of enjoying a mutually beneficial relationship with the iPhone maker.
FILE PHOTO: The Apple Inc. logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, U.S., October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Apple carried Tile on its app store and had sold its products at its stores since 2015. It had even showcased Tile’s technology at a big event in 2018. The startup had sent an engineer to Apple’s headquarters to develop a feature with the company’s voice assistant, Siri.
Then, in early 2019, Tile’s executives read news reports of Apple launching a hardware product, along with a service that resembled what Tile sold. In June, Apple stopped selling Tile’s products in its stores and has since hired its engineer.
The smart-tracker startup was one of four companies that testified at the…
Source Reuters Tech News
Source link
