Nice, way to literally copy and paste @derekamoss’s post for the first part there 😂 your argument didn’t make sense though, to get on the marketplace/store in the first place (on Xbox, for example, since you brought them up) you have to pay that same fee. Of course the apps are available elsewhere. That’s what I’m saying. Apple’s App Store isn’t the only place to get Netflix or Microsoft Edge browser or many many other apps/games. That’s why the App Store is not a monopoly.
Gluing phones together is for waterproofing. Without that adhesive it would be much less water resistant than it is now. Every time someone opens the phone, the water resistance rating is reliant on how well that technician puts the phone back together. Hence why of course Apple would want to be the one to fix it. It’s so heavily in the spotlight that even if it was the fault of a third party repair place, the media would have an uproar claiming that Apple’s phones aren’t waterproof.
Soldering the storage and memory down, yeah it’s inconvenient but that’s the price that we all have to pay for people clamoring for thinner and lighter machines. (There are plenty of people out there, I know the MR forums are full of people with the opposite view). Doesn’t make it a monopoly.
Future proofing a device is a result of soldering it down, so it’s the same point.
Buying up companies? Do you know how many other companies do that? That’s sometimes the GOAL of a business owner. To get big enough to be noticed and then aim to be bought out to get an early retirement. Those people are then either brought over into the parent company or payed a significant chunk for compensation. It’s not the buyer’s responsibility to make sure that smaller company’s ceo takes care of his/her employees.
