According to a report, Apple dedicated three years to developing support for the Apple Watch on Android smartphones.

Apple has announced its intention to “strongly defend” against the lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice, alleging the company’s infringement of US federal and state antitrust laws.

According to reports, Apple acknowledged in its response to the US Department of Justice (DoJ) lawsuit that it spent several years exploring the possibility of integrating support for its Apple Watch with Android smartphones. While previous reports had hinted at Apple’s efforts to enable compatibility between its smartwatches and devices running on Google’s Android operating system, this marks the first official confirmation from Apple regarding its past interest in launching an Apple Watch compatible with Android phones.

According to 9to5Mac, Apple’s response to the US Department of Justice (DoJ) lawsuit revealed that the company had explored the possibility of making the Apple Watch compatible with Android devices. However, after encountering technical challenges over a span of three years, Apple ultimately decided to abandon its plans to extend support for its smartwatches beyond the iPhone.

The 88-page lawsuit filed by the US DoJ accuses Apple of violating federal and state antitrust laws by allegedly degrading cross-platform messaging quality (iMessage exclusivity), restricting functionality for non-Apple smartwatches (by limiting Apple Watch compatibility to iPhones), hindering cloud gaming services on iOS, and preventing third-party apps from offering tap-to-pay functionality similar to Apple Pay.

According to the publication, Apple expressed concerns that the lawsuit “jeopardizes our identity and the principles that distinguish Apple products in highly competitive markets.” The company stated its intention to “strongly defend” against the US DoJ’s lawsuit, asserting that it is “misguided in both its facts and legal interpretation.”

Bloomberg reported last year that Apple’s engineers were heavily involved in a project named “Project Fennel,” which sought to introduce the Apple Watch and the company’s Health app to Android smartphones. The project was terminated just as it was nearing completion in order to maintain the wearable’s role in driving sales of Apple’s iPhone, according to the report.