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Yep, it is so terrible. Search, "Apple Apps", select 15 apps, and go. That is a terrible experience.

You want to know a terrible experience? It is every freking Apple update taking me though 15 wack-a-mole alerts trying to force me to use Apple features that I consider security problems (like iCould.). How about in order to not use some iCould features you have to turn iCould on, then watch helplessly while your phone starts to sync, then turn iCould off and decipher the warning messages about how your data is being deleted, never knowing if you selected the right options.
Ok now try doing that when there's no App Store app because that is also an Apple app. You'll have to bring the phone to your computer at home and deal with the wild west of manually downloading and side-loading apps to an empty piece of hardware.
 
There are a substantial other number of places to get a burger out there actually. And you realize that your argument doesn't make sense here? Nobody is asking that other companies be allowed to make an 'iPhone' or a 'Galaxy'.
Sure it does. A market can be defined in any way you can specify. I can define a market as “MacDonald’s and Burger King’s” and, in that market, they’re a duopoly. Note that I did NOT define a market of “burgers”, you did.
 
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Well, oil IS a natural resource that Standard took no part in the creation of, though. I don’t remember seeing Apple iPhone mines or Apple AppStore wells.
Anti-trust laws have no regard as to what the specific product is. And correct me if I'm wrong, but last I checked telephone networks aren't a natural resource either.
 
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I get what lawmakers are after here and I support the spirit of what they are trying to do, but the total lack of understanding of how technology and computers work leaves them looking very inept at best. The inclusion of default apps isn't the problem, it is the inability to change or remove that app when you want something else. They need to define the 3 levels of the device. The hardware, and what it is and can be done with it. the OS level that is the software that provides the application interface, and then the applications that perform tasks for the user. I am assuming they take issue when a company has control of all three layers and does give consumers a way to replace part of that.

Now here is where that gets "tricky". there are other devices out there that do this but are not phones or computers in a traditional sense. Consider something like the Infotainment system in your car. the hardware, software and "apps" (like the radio interface) are all developed by the auto manufacturer. you don't have any "choice" about what apps are installed and how they are installed... so in effect that could fall under this. TVs for example, that do not run "android" but have their own software per se, could have a channel tuning function viewed as an "app" so the basic function of the device is a no go. Game consoles would also be prime candidates to fall under this as well.
I think that sums it up very well. Now, since Apple makes all 3 layers, you can't change the hardware part or the OS part, As this is not and Android device where there are hardware makers all using their flavor of Android....however (and I can be wrong see, because I am not an Android user) I believe you are locked into the hardware makes flavor of Android, so you can't install a bare Google version on a Samsung device...or am I wrong there. Since the iPhone and the OS are Apple, you can't put another OS (Android) on an iPhone. There are base apps that need to be there or the device has much reduced value and it won't connect into the Apple "ecosystem" and that is the big selling point and the value of the device. It just seems that you should be able to delete and and all of the Apple native apps....at your own risk should you choose to.
 
Three reasons:
  1. Lobbyists from the likes of Epic and Pandora who want to leverage what Apple has built without paying for it.
  2. Bipartisan hatred for big tech. This itself has several causes, including disdain for capitalism and profits, fear that their side is being censored, and fear that the other side isn't being censored.
  3. Their constituents are constantly writing and calling to complain that their phones and computers are too easy to use, and that Apple and Google are providing too many useful services.
  4. Politicians are clueless and corrupt idiots who constantly posture for soundbites and acting tough against all boogiemen, foreign or domestic.
Yes, completely ignore Apple's existence as a duopoly with ability to write the rules while also playing the game.
 
Microsoft was almost broken up because they installed IE on Windows PCs 25 years ago.
False. They had systemic anticompetitive behavior:
  1. code to create synthetic error messages if you use some third party offerings
  2. branding the crash messages, e.g. netscape crashes give the user an option to download/switch to IE
  3. restricting vendors from installing third party applications
  4. penalizing hardware vendors by not giving them access to Windows 95 until post-consumer launch for not meeting Microsoft's demands
Microsoft falsely claimed that IE was a core part of the OS to try to justify their behavior in terms of monopoly abuse, but it was shown that it was entirely possible to remove IE.

The biggest core difference is that Apple hasn't restricted OEMs, because they have no OEMs. Apple is the only one selling iOS devices.

Conversely, Apple did make the browser engine a core component of the OS, and shipped safari, chat, mail and music support a year before they even had the capability to install third party software.

And the browser (specifically the javascript engine) is indeed a component that is not replicable by third parties without breaking the OS security model. Javascript and WASM need to be either interpreted or compiled locally after being downloaded, making it the vector for dynamic buffer overflow/remote code execution attacks.

Microsoft couldn't make such a security argument because... well, they had zero security before ~2000.
Monopolies are a bad thing folks.
Monopolies are a cherished part of capitalism. It is called doing your job better than anyone else and winning.

It's the abuses of monopoly position that are bad - that means you are changing the rules of the game to make it so nobody else can win.

The thing is - Apple has tried very hard not to change the rules. It's the expectations of what others can do on their platform is what has changed a the platform has grown.

Look at Spotify - they have basically said that Apple is abusing their monopoly position by taking iTunes and.. altering how it bills people. Well, and a bunch of complaints where (similarly to Epic) they whine that Apple gives them the same APIs and rules and cut that they give every other third party developer.
 
People aren't dumb -- well most of them are not. If they find a better app on the app store they will buy or install it regardless if a pre-installed app is in place.
 
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Now here is where that gets "tricky". there are other devices out there that do this but are not phones or computers in a traditional sense.

I think you are looking at from the technical part, while Anti-trust is not really about the technical part. Take for instance cars, none manufacturer has 50% market share. Anti-trust looks for balance taking into account lots of variables.

 
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Yep, it is so terrible. Search, "Apple Apps", select 15 apps, and go. That is a terrible experience.
You’re giving many users (like my wife unfortunately) far too much credit. I’ve had to install and setup every single app on her iPhone (thank goodness I got her off of Android at least).
You want to know a terrible experience? It is every freking Apple update taking me though 15 wack-a-mole alerts trying to force me to use Apple features that I consider security problems (like iCould.).
Not sure what you are talking about here. I don’t use iCloud (or any of Apple’s pay services) and have never seen anything like this after any updates.
 
MicroSoft being forced to have alternatives to IE was the 1st step in killing IE and you'd have to be a maniac to not agree with that being a good thing.

As for Apple-apps on the iPhone I would for sure just download them as most of the alternatives look scrummy as hell....

Why was it a good thing? It just gave google a massive leg up, which I’m not sure is a good thing.
sure IE was **** but I would rather Microsoft fixed it than lawmakers killed it.
 
If this passes in this form (unlikely!) I could see Apple adding a "Basic Phone Apps" group of apps to the store that you can install with one tap. You can already delete stock apps and reinstall them, so this is basically 50% of the way done already.
 
Sure it does. A market can be defined in any way you can specify. I can define a market as “MacDonald’s and Burger King’s” and, in that market, they’re a duopoly. Note that I did NOT define a market of “burgers”, you did.
You can say whatever silly thing you want, but the rest of us will discuss topics as it pertains to how they actually exist in reality.
 
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Microsoft was almost broken up because they installed IE on Windows PCs 25 years ago. What Apple, Microsoft, and Google have gotten away with the past 15 years or so is incredibly far beyond that.

This legislation makes total sense and I support it.

Monopolies are a bad thing folks.
No, Microsoft was almost broken up because they refused to allow other browsers to be pre-installed, not just because they included IE, and also because of other anti-competitive practices, such as forcing OEMs to charge for a Windows license even if the machine didn't have Windows installed.
 
Yes, completely ignore Apple's existence as a duopoly with ability to write the rules while also playing the game.
So when are we going to apply that to broadband ? you move in somewhere and you are told this is the only option for broadband/TV/phone......all because they made some shady deal with the township? I should be able to have all carriers available to me. We have Comcast....fortunately my area was part of the Verizon Fios project.....I made sure to be the first one to sign up, so I could be the first one to call Comcast that tell to shove their cable up their ass.

So, Walmart, is working very hard to compete with Amazon, there is no other player as big as Walmart. So once they get to that point there will be a duopoly of Walmart/Amazon...will they be knocked down??
 
No camera app. No calendar app. No photos app. No weather app. No wallet, notes, home, FaceTime,...

What a ludicrous bill. Who will define an "apple app"?
Agreed. Don’t know what kinda process they expect but I wouldn’t want to download & install all the essential stock apps.

Bad enough I have to download all other apps I use when I setup a new phone.
 
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What are you talking about? I set up an iPhone for my mother the other day and it took half an hour migrating all her apps and content from android.

Perhaps your mother doesn’t have as many apps or as much data to download.

I think I spent about 15 minutes just waiting for iOS to update. So half an hour is an impressive speedrun.
 
Microsoft was almost broken up because they installed IE on Windows PCs 25 years ago. What Apple, Microsoft, and Google have gotten away with the past 15 years or so is incredibly far beyond that.
I agree and have brought up the Microsoft IE story a zillion times since that landmark case. I am beyond astonished what Apple has gotten away with since basically 2001.

I do not, however, necessarily agree with this bill because it seems to force Apple to make a phone with essentially an empty OS on it. What will be on the screen?...just the App Store and I now need to go looking for the top 5 basic apps I use on any phone (email, texting, web surfing, contacts list, phone application)? That just seems ridiculous. I would, however, suggest that although Apple can still load a bunch of apps on the iPhone by default, 100% of them should be uninstallable except for maybe the Settings app and the Phone app. I can't speak for iOS these days, but in the past, it was impossible to delete some/all of the Apple apps that come with the phone. I wanted to delete them to 1)save screen space, 2)save drive space, 3)I just plain would never use them.
 
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i think that many ”naysayers” dont even realize why this is good for a customer. When there is a bug in a default preinstalled apple apps (an app that cannot be removed), then you need to wait when os get an update rather than the app is a separate app in appstore and updated via appstore. Would you rather download a mega than a giga and wait months to fix a small error?
 
It really does seem ridiculous but perhaps on the launch of certain apps (which could still be pre-installed for quicker usage) you would have a launch screen pop-up selector.

quick mock-up below

View attachment 1794149
That's less bad than what some in Congress are proposing, but it's still nothing consumers are demanding. In fact, from a consumer point of view, that screen would be annoying. Especially because iOS would need to show me a similar screen for Music, and web browser, and weather, and phone, and FaceTime, and camera, and so on.

It's not customers demanding features like what your mockup shows or what this legislation would require. It's other companies who want their products and services in front of your face, and they're looking to Congress and courts to make their job of marketing to you easier.

People mentioned the anti-trust case against Microsoft. This is same story: Customers weren't complaining that Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer (which, in the mid 90s was arguably a better browser than Netscape Navigator, which Netscape wanted you to pay for) for free. It was Netscape, along with Sun and other companies who, essentially, complained that Microsoft was just too damn popular with customers.
 
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Seriously? Getting a new iPhone is the simplest experience ever. all your data is stored in the cloud, your apps are already in the App Store. Some people even make backups, but I gave that up when I started using the cloud for all my data storage. So all you do is sign in and get your phone number registered. The phone does the rest. Maybe you are not using the cloud is why it takes so long?
Really, All my data is not on the iCloud server. It's on my device and my local computer. i am not going to pay for over a TB of cloud storage to back up my iDevices... switching devices it a time consuming process. With all of the security, reentering everything in the wallet, logging back into different apps, etc.
 
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