There are exactly 2 TWO phone and tablet operating systems in the entire world. That’s called a DUOPOLY, with each provider having a monopoly.
But you already knew that, I guess?
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EU Plans to Fine Apple for Anticompetitive App Store Practices
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But you already knew that, I guess?
In the end, it's us Apple customers in the EU who will cover the fine. Doing business in the EU becomes more expensive for Apple, so naturally they raise prices.
Isn't the EU pricing including the VAT is already higher than the rest of the world?
Apple should comply with our laws. Having laws doesn't mean being a dictatorship. You shouldn't conceive anything that goes against someone's interest as dictatorial. You know, there's more than one person in the world, some laws are against someone's interest to protect others. Especially if this someone is obviously cheating to win.
If Apple were one of several componies to choose from it would be ok. In the desktop/laptop market they get a free pass because developers can sell directly to consumers and you have the option of building your own computer from scratch if you wish. Its the same with cars and videogames: despite big players there are still at least a dozen brands to buy from and markets are open to disruption. Panic sold enough Playdate devices to bother with a second year of games and Tesla shook things up for the established players therein.
With phones you have two options: Apple and Google. Lots of companies build Android phones but they are still beholden to Google for apps and services. Google also pay Apple billions a year for search engine monopoly making it a duopoly. It is very difficult to build a new platform from scratch to compete.
This isn't the first time states have dealt with large companies. I'm not saying Apple needs breaking up in any way but the splitting of Standard Oil and AT&T was only ever in the interests of competition, innovation and consumers.
I'm sure it does. How else does a Communist dictatorship fund itself? It needs to levy "fines" on companies it doesn't like in the name of "protecting consumers" when the reality is it is protectionist and doesn't give a damn about consumers, as long as they are buying from Communist Party approved companies that they control.
This grows tiresome: it seems those harbouring your incredulity don't get that when silly laws exist, people are free to point out that they're silly – practically no one is claiming laws aren't laws, and Apple has a history of conforming to laws all over the world, including those of its home country. Retain some integrity, then, and rebut the criticism itself.
I haven't heard much from EU Apple customers themselves, but with all the news and conversation this year, I've been keen to. Would you care to elaborate, or have you elaborated anyplace you'd link to?
Apple just view the EU as another economic zone rather than a political entity. Having to change their software distribution is no different to having to the historic differences between DVD regions or PAL vs NTSC videogame encoding.
There hasn't been any communist states on the larger European continent for a few decades now, friend. If your globe still has USSR on it might be time to ask Santa for a new one
As you surely know, that will never happen because all corporations are in this for the money, and it would cost them more to leave the market than complying. Probably it costs them more to comply than paying the fines, also, so here we are.
Is Apple a monopoly in the EU? Does Apple have an overwhelming market share there?
I think the EU logic here is that because Apple is so big, they have a monopoly on Apple products. Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous, but its the truth. I would not be suppressed if EU soon will ask Apple to allow third party manufactures to produce and sell their products too.
It would be fun to see. What would EU do. They would have no other option, than just to go to China and beg for support (products and software). And they do not want that. Well except for Orban and Austria. Remember how Huawei and 5G turned out. But EU wants to have the cake and eat it too.
It's not about the hardware and never has been. The DMA is about commerce (mostly services) that is happening in Apple's and Google's ecosystem between users and third-party businesses. The reasoning behind the law is maybe too abstract for some to grasp 🤷♂️. I think it's sound thought and much needed. But that is of course a matter of opinion.
Apple has been found guilty of abuse of dominant position in some EU countries, such as the Netherlands.
That doesn't answer my question. Is Apple a monopoly in the EU? Having a dominant position in some EU countries means that Apple has a monopoly in the EU?
I'm not being accusatory. I'm simply asking about EU law, which I'm not particularly familiar with.
iPhone is very popular in Europe.
Apple is not a monopoly in Europe, there are loads of tech companies.
Apple iPhone is not a monopoly in Europe, there are loads of phone manufacturers.
Apple iPad is not a monopoly in Europe, there are loads of tablet manufacturers.
Apple's iOS is 1 of only 2 mobile operating systems available on the planet. The barriers to access in the phone OS market are virtually impenetrable, even Microsoft with all their money couldn't compete!
iOS and Android operate as a duopoly , each behaving as a monopoly.
Whilst that creates convenience for users it also poses a risk.
Apple uses their monopoly in the OS market to create a monopoly in the App delivery market. That's contentious at the very least.
Every single EU post is the same. Apple can do no wrong, must defend the trillion dollar corp
There aren’t 50 million AppStores tho lol. There’s what, 3 or 4? And have you been stopped from continuing to use the normal AppStore in any way?
Who’s dismantling the AppStore? Have you been stopped from using it in the way you always have been?
It’s not Apple’s fault that nobody else is willing to invest in their own mobile ecosystem, or the competition’s lack of vision or ability to execute. Everyone was here laughing at Apple every step of the way when they released the iPod, then iTunes, then the iPhone, iPad, Apple watch, AirPods, services, and even now, people are mocking Apple silicon and Vision Pro.
Meanwhile, Apple spends billions of dollars every year building up their ecosystem bit by bit, they are merely reaping the fruits of their labour, and people can’t stand Apple succeeding, I suppose.
The DMA is not going to address the root cause of the problem, which is that tech companies in the EU simply can’t compete, through no fault of Apple’s.
Or Apple is successful so they must be doing something wrong.
I have explained this multiple times already. The EU has been designed to be as far from it's citizens as possible. It's absolutely not a Democracy.
There are at LEAST 3 operating systems for tablets:
1. iPad OS
2. Android
3. Windows (Surface)
4. Linux
Also there are Linux os-es for phones.
And sure Nokia's Symbian and Blackberry's OS have been discontinued. But there is still choice.
What many people still fail to understand is that all this is to try and level the playing field to create a "fair" market.
This isn't about giving more control to the consumer or give them a better experience.
This might result in better customer experience in some cases (Apple was apparently pressured by third-party stores so users can now easily download console emulators on the App Store for example), but in other cases this might worsen the consumer experience (having to deal with multiple "App Stores", payment methods etc.).
This isn't about giving more control to the consumer or give them a better experience.
This might result in better customer experience in some cases (Apple was apparently pressured by third-party stores so users can now easily download console emulators on the App Store for example), but in other cases this might worsen the consumer experience (having to deal with multiple "App Stores", payment methods etc.).