Alibaba (阿里) and Xiaomi (小米) flock to ‘lifting weights’ — are LeKe (乐刻) and peers panicking?

Apple’s new medical-app rules raise the bar

It has been reported that Apple has updated App Store rules in the US, UK and European Economic Area to force apps that diagnose, monitor, prevent or treat disease to declare whether they are regulated medical devices. MacRumors flagged the change, and Apple’s guidance — now live on its developer site — requires developers to submit regulator details (EU SRN or FDA operator numbers), usage statements and safety information when an app falls into a medical category. New submissions must comply immediately; existing apps have until early 2027 to declare status or face blocked updates.

Why big Chinese tech could benefit — and startups could fret

Reportedly, Alibaba (阿里) and Xiaomi (小米) have been accelerating moves into fitness and health services — from gym investments and fitness apps to wearables — areas that increasingly straddle consumer wellness and regulated medical functionality. Who has the compliance teams and legal budgets to manage FDA and EU device registrations at scale? Large platform players do. Smaller chains and app-first operators such as LeKe (乐刻) and other niche fitness startups may face a compliance crunch: harder market access in Western jurisdictions, delayed updates, and higher operational costs. Will tighter app-store oversight accelerate consolidation in China’s crowded fitness-tech sector? It’s a real possibility.

Regulatory and geopolitical context

This is not just a product-policy change; it sits at the intersection of digital platform governance and cross-border regulation. Chinese companies targeting Western users now must navigate EU and US medical-device regimes — and do so amid broader trade tensions and export controls that have complicated hardware supply chains and certification pathways. For Western readers, the takeaway is simple: stricter App Store rules could favor incumbents with resources while squeezing nimble local players that helped fuel China’s fitness boom. It has been reported that some smaller operators are already reassessing expansion plans.