The DOJ has sued Apple, claiming that the tech giant has both monopolized the smartphone market, and has hiked costs for users and developers as a result. One way the DOJ says Apple behaves in Monopolistic behavior is by strictly limiting the types of apps allowed on the apple app store, forcing developers to conform to Apples standards. Another way the DOJ says Apple is a monopoly is by creating an ecosystem of products exclusively apple. The Apple watch, and lots of other Apple products, can only be paired with iPhone, which disincentivizes users to switch to another phone producer once they get the other Apple product. There are various other reasons the DOJ gives for Apple of being a monopoly, but all follow the general pattern of Apple products or services being exclusively run through Apple itself. Because of this, Apple is able limit competition and raise cost, increasing profit. Even assuming the DOJ claims are correct, I missed the part where Apple was a monopoly. I haven't had an iPhone since middle school, and its not because I haven't had a smartphone since. It may be true that Apple heavily restricts the kind of apps allowed on its store, but all this means is that Android phones are able to cater to those developers that Apple excludes. Where is the monopoly? Same with the example of the Apple Watch or Digital Wallet. I see Apple doing things to make staying with Apple highly convenient for the consumer, but I fail to see them being... a monopoly. It will be interesting to see where this lawsuit leads.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/22/doj-apple-monopoly-antitrust-lawsuit-explained-00148492
1 comment:
Apple may not be a complete monopoly by the conventional definition, however they are likely as close as a company can be to one currently. They also do have monopolistic characteristics such as the limited app store, which can only be counteracted by android catering to other developers if they can also offer these developers the same opportunity as Apple, which I am not sure is possible due to the popularity of Apple products.
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