The U.K.'s National Health Service says it has ditched its COVID-19 tracing app and will instead be using a decentralized model that uses technology provided by Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).

What Happened: The U.K. government says it has had challenges developing its contract tracing app due to issues with using the app on Apple systems.

The U.K. originally launched the first phase of the integrated contact tracing and testing program on the Isle of Wight.

U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock informed the British public of the decision to ditch the COVID-19 tracing app in a Thursday press conference, and said the government will instead adopt a model using technology provided by Google and Apple.

NHS Says It Will Use The Best Of Both Systems: While the U.K's app worked well on Android devices, the Apple software prevented iPhones from effectively using contact tracing.

The national health care agency is joining forces with Apple and Google "to bring the best bits of both systems together," Hancock said. 

Price Action: Apple shares were trading down 0.29% at $350.56 at the time of publication Thursday. The stock has a 52-week range between $355.40 and $192.58.

Alphabet shares were down 1.48% at $1,431 at the time of publication on Thursday. The stock has a 52-week range between $1,530.74 and $1,008.87.

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