At WWDC 2016 Apple announced a new app called Breathe as part of its watchOS 3 for the Apple Watch. The app focuses on helping users stay stress free by deep breathing. It reminds users to do breathing meditation and even helps them via haptic guiding. Now, a developer called Ben Erez has claimed that Apple has ripped off his app with the same name available on Apple Store for over a year. Also Read - Apple iPhone 12 price: You may get it at this cost, thanks to OLED display and 5G connectivity

We’ve had the same concept, same spelling, similar functionality in the App store for phone and watch for over a year. We built the app because the existing mindfulness apps were insufficient in that they all focus on intense sessions of 5-20 minutes, once per day. We wanted a mindfulness experience that was felt throughout the day in smaller bits, Erez said in an e-mail statement to BGR India. Also Read - The Samsung Wireless Charger Trio can charge your phone, earbuds and watch, all at once

According to Erez, the app was launched in April 2015 and has seen over 6,500 downloads. He claims that Apple has not just ripped off the name of his app but it’s functionality as well.

We checked out Ben s Breathe app on Apple Store. The app has been updated on June 5, 2016 and is compatible with iOS 9.0 and above. Looking at the description, Apple s Breath app does seem to be based on the same concept.

Breathe is a mindfulness app that helps you stay relaxed by sending you gentle breathing reminders throughout your day. Just set up the times in which you’d like to receive Breathers and how frequently – we’ll take care of the rest! We’re excited to help you be calmer, healthier and happier. Thanks for letting us in, reads the description of the app.

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It is quite surprising to see that one of the biggest new features of watchOS 3 was intentionally or accidentally similar to an app that was already available on its App Store and in fact has the same name. BGR India has reached out to Apple to find out more details on the same. Stay tuned for more updates.