Tile Writes to EU Accusing Apple of Abuse of Power

[zifty]

The problem is Apple allows itself to do things in its own apps that it won't allow 3rd party apps to do. To that point, Tile has a good argument. Apple should have to play by their own rules for their apps too. There is an increasing trend of Apple taking over a segment by changing/limiting their rules, but not abiding by it themselves in the name of privacy (as if we should just trust them to always be perfect in their privacy intentions). For example, parental control apps being effectively gutted, Tile and location tracking, etc...
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With that said, this does seem like childish whining on their behalf. In the iPhone, Apple has created a product and a software ecosystem from scratch. Tile shouldn't automatically expect to get the same levels of access to that ecosystem that Apple have. Apple have invested millions, if not billions, of dollars to create their own platform and should be able to reap benefits from that without having to hand over the keys to their competitors. Tile are entirely free to create their own platform if they should choose to do so.

So if you want to do something new, you should have to create your own device? Under your argument, why should any apps be allowed at all? Why don't we go back to the original days of the iPhone where everything was 100% Apple? Why should we trust Apple and not third party app developers? Apple still controls the OS and isn't handing over any keys to competitors. But at some point, they need to play by the rules they set for their own playground. Non-essential apps (like Tile/Apple Tag) should have the same level of access.

 

[sigma8]

I am fully with Apple on this one. I have Tiles, and I use them to find stuff around my house like my keys and wallet. I just want the app to use Bluetooth and make the Tile play its alarm so I can locate my misplaced things. I don't even want the app to have my location, if possible..just make the Tile beep.

However, the Tile App is constantly begging me for always-on location tracking, which Tile uses to crowdsource device locations. If I have the app on, and I come within range of another user's Tile, IIRC, this information is sent to Tile HQ so that the other user can help find their device, even if it's out of bluetooth range.

I can understand some people may want more than same-room BT finding abilities, but Tile can already do all the things it wants to do, they just have to put up with Apple's warnings about apps using location data--which IMO should definitely be there. They are trying to get Apple to let them make _their_ desired setting changes more surreptiously.

The crowdsourcing, out-of-range device finding feature is never going to match a first-party equivalent. Nobody is ever going to be able to help me find my phone better than the people who control the signals that go to my phone. Tile's strength is in letting me put Tiles onto/into any other device that my phone can't otherwise track. They should focus on that instead of (or at least alongside) their big data agenda.

 

[alexandr]

I have been a Tile user for over one year and I can say their products completely fail in their basic function, i.e. advise immediately when you leave behind something.

I bought the tiles plus paid the annual fee for their app, but when I leave my wallet behind I got advice 1h later... Completely useless and false advertising on their side.

Hopefully, Apple will get it right.

christ, it's worse than i realized...

 

[krfr]

Apple doesn’t even have a product out that competes with Tile, yet. Why are they running scared?

 

[Unregistered 4U]

parental control apps being effectively gutted

Wasn’t the problem there, though, that those companies were using MDM and VPN but not telling their customers? AND, without a rule in place, they would have been able to sell that very valuable data to third parties?

 

[happyprozak]

First Spotify, now Tile... the domino's begin to fall

There is nothing falling. You just have 2 companies complaining about Apple's dominance. Spotify has a bigger marketshare world wide so it's a little ironic that they are complaining about Apple.

If Spotify and Tile can win lawsuits to change how Apple operates then you can say that domino's are falling.

 

[ThaGoochiestMane]

It's a little hard to believe how many people are saying Apple doesn't do this..

Yes, they do. That's why people frequently cite their preference for Apple products by just saying "they work so well together." I'm not going to judge whether or not it's right or wrong, but it's foolish to say this doesn't happen when that's the majority of their ecosystem's staying power.

 

[ani4ani]

EU investigations are usually on abuse of dominant position.

Apple, obviously, hasn't got a dominant position.

So complaining to the EU won't get them anywhere and they probably know it.

Yep, let's just waste €m's on lawyers because we probably know it won't get us anywhere - if only we had you advising them!

 

[Websnapx2]

It doesn't need it yet though does it? They might add it if they want to do what Tile does. Although even then, it may be a system process rather than the Find My app that does the tracking.

It doesn't need it AND it doesn't have it.

 

[ThaGoochiestMane]

Sorry tile....that is business.

Want a better model - create your own phone company to connect the tile to. You play with someone else's ecosystem then you don't to set the rules.

This seems to be the route Twitter is arguing, and at least for them I completely agree.

I'd be much more inclined to think of this move from Apple with good faith if they hadn't released a credit card. That's too Orwellian/dystopian for me, I don't want any company to have that much of a monopoly on people.

Just wait until they come out with Apple Paycheck: "Just give us your money, Siri's new Financial Responsibility Tool will teach you how to spend!."

 

[GermanSuplex]

I'll admit I have no idea how the law works, but as long as Apple isn't intentionally excluding Tile from compatibility, how is it "illegally" favoring its own products?

 

[Dustman]

Using a Tile is still possible. Just update your user manual and stop bitching. You build an entire company around being a phone accessory, it’s your job to adapt not the other way around.

This is like screen protector manufacturers being pissed off about a phone coming with a screen protector already applied.

 

[farmboy]

Microsoft lost not because they had Internet Explorer installed as the default on their software, but because they denied other similar software from being installed. Not the same situation at all with Apple and Tile.

 

[malkovich87]

History repeats itself - how is Fitbit doing these days? ;-)

they belong to Google now and are doing rather well.

 

[ani4ani]

Microsoft lost not because they had Internet Explorer installed as the default on their software, but because they denied other similar software from being installed. Not the same situation at all with Apple and Tile.

That's not entirely correct; Microsoft lost the case because they made it difficult for competing products to be installed rather than deny them installation. So, some might argue a little like Apple and Tile. Furthermore, IE was "free" [read. subsidised by other revenue streams within Microsoft] whereas Netscape and the like were paid for progams, further discouraging /supressing competitor adoption etc, again one might argue like Apple and Tile [Spotify]. If you remember Microsoft was forced to run an installation routine in Windows allowing users to select their browser of choice.

 

[ConnerKid]

I think people are misunderstanding the gist of this claim. The point Tile is trying to make is that Apple is making it impossible to compete in a market by giving themselves an advantage and kneecapping the competition.

By making it more difficult for the consumer to set up a Tile vs. an Apple Tag on the same device (assuming that the Apple Tag will work 'seamlessly' while Tile is forced to have users go into settings and explicitly enable location services) they essentially invalidate any competition before you even get to compare the merits of each product.

Regardless of what you think of Tile's products, it is anti competitive behavior. Yes, it is Apple's ecosystem. But that doesn't mean they can cripple the competition on their platforms when they decide to create a competing product. Look at Microsoft and their history with Internet Explorer on Windows.

Imagine if when Apple Music was being released, Apple decided that all other music streaming could no longer be done in the background and you had to leave the app open in order to listen. That would make the user experience horrible for Spotify on any iOS device regardless of the quality of the Spotify App.

For everyone crying 'well Tile is just whining like Spotify, Apple can do what they want and shouldn't be expected to hand over the keys.' I think that is a slippery slope. That attitude would make being a software company essentially pointless unless you also happen to provide an operating system. Your entire company could be completely invalidated simply because Apple/Google/Microsoft decided they want to get into your market.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I think people are misunderstanding the gist of this claim. The point Tile is trying to make is that Apple is making it impossible to compete in a market by giving themselves an advantage and kneecapping the competition.

By making it more difficult for the consumer to set up a Tile vs. an Apple Tag on the same device (assuming that the Apple Tag will work 'seamlessly' while Tile is forced to have users go into settings and explicitly enable location services) they essentially invalidate any competition before you even get to compare the merits of each product.

Regardless of what you think of Tile's products, it is anti competitive behavior. Yes, it is Apple's ecosystem. But that doesn't mean they can cripple the competition on their platforms when they decide to create a competing product. Look at Microsoft and their history with Internet Explorer on Windows.

Imagine if when Apple Music was being released, Apple decided that all other music streaming could no longer be done in the background and you had to leave the app open in order to listen. That would make the user experience horrible for Spotify on any iOS device regardless of the quality of the Spotify App.

For everyone crying 'well Tile is just whining like Spotify, Apple can do what they want and shouldn't be expected to hand over the keys.' I think that is a slippery slope. That attitude would make being a software company essentially pointless unless you also happen to provide an operating system. Your entire company could be completely invalidated simply because Apple/Google/Microsoft decided they want to get into your market.

Yet there are no Apple Air Tags - your whole premise is built upon a rumour. Just like the Tiles argument is.

 

[coolfactor]

Apple still gets my vote here. Why? Because the true fault of an ecosystem are the users... they can't be trusted. So Apple has to play hardball, making it harder for users to put themselves at risk. Disabling the option for always-on tracking is a smart move in that direction. Plus, certain developers abuse such features, so again, hard decisions need to be made. At the end of the day, users benefit.

Tile just needs to adapt to changing times. Simple as that.
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By making it more difficult for the consumer to set up a Tile vs. an Apple Tag on the same device (assuming that the Apple Tag will work 'seamlessly' while Tile is forced to have users go into settings and explicitly enable location services) they essentially invalidate any competition before you even get to compare the merits of each product.

I do agree with this. I strongly feel Apple should always take the framework approach to services, so 3rd-party developers can tap into the same functionality as Apple can. Don't make low-level implementation the competitive advantage. Keep that at the user-experience level. Then it's up to Apple vs. CompanyX to provide the best user experience, with both having equal access to the underlying tech platform. That's how Apple should fly.

 

[ConnerKid]

Yet there are no Apple Air Tags - your whole premise is built upon a rumour. Just like the Tiles argument is.

Yes, but at this point it is all but certain that they are going to release very soon. There is an overwhelming amount of documentation and leaks. Once Apple releases them, then this is a very valid topic of discussion.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Yes, but at this point it is all but certain that they are going to release very soon. There is an overwhelming amount of documentation and leaks. Once Apple releases them, then this is a very valid topic of discussion.

Preemptive complaints are null and void in my opinion. Apple have decided to up the security of iOS by making sure it’s hard to track without explicit user consent.
If and when they release air tags, which hypothetically hamper tile in some way with preference to their own solution, will result in this being a valid complaint. Right now they’re complaining about something which doesn’t even exist.

Unless you agree with any app being allowed to access stuff without consent then I fail to see the issue. Tile can still be fully utilised with the right settings as of now. They just need to explain how to do it within their usage instructions. I’m ok with every app needing explicit consent for anything, particularly ones location.

 

[Karllake]

I'm a Tile owner. I find their products pretty useful as I used to always leave my keys in the office and not realise until I got home.

With that said, this does seem like childish whining on their behalf. In the iPhone, Apple has created a product and a software ecosystem from scratch. Tile shouldn't automatically expect to get the same levels of access to that ecosystem that Apple have. Apple have invested millions, if not billions, of dollars to create their own platform and should be able to reap benefits from that without having to hand over the keys to their competitors. Tile are entirely free to create their own platform if they should choose to do so.

Ultimately I believe the choice is down to the customer. If they accept that Apple will restrict third parties from doing certain things in order to promote their own products and services then they will continue to buy iPhones. If not, there's always Android.

respectfully disagree, if we’re talking software I’d agree with your point, but hardware once sold belongs to the consumer, Apple isn’t playing fair and making access available for all hardware to all developers.

ps I love tile products but hate their data policy, can’t wait to leave them

 

[Black Belt]

So are they suing Burgundy, France for their illegal monopoly on wines from Burgundy?

 

[ericwn]

So are they suing Burgundy, France for illegally favoring wines from Burgundy?

So you’re saying they rightfully sue against an illegal practice?

 

[Black Belt]

Are they going to prosecute Mercedes and BMW for illegally not selling Toyotas?
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Are they prosecution Italy’s monopoly on San Marzano tomatoes?

 

[ericwn]

Are they going to prosecute Mercedes and BMW for illegally not selling Toyotas?
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Are they prosecution Italy’s monopoly on San Marzano tomatoes?

If really illegal a lawsuit might happen.

This article reads rather like they’ll file a complaint though.