Unauthorized App Store Cydia Sues Apple for Anticompetitive Behavior

[dukeblue219]

"It's Apple's platform, they can do whatever they want."

OK, how comfortable are you with:

"It's Microsoft's OS, they can bundle or ban whatever software they want."

"It's Google's search engine, they can sort results however they want."

"You bought Comcast internet service; they can include whichever websites they want you to access."

 

[ani4ani]

If you want a phone that lets you install apps from anywhere, you should have bought a different phone. What do you not understand?

I'm a robot, I will obey.....

In any other walk of life you know this would be absolutely ridiculous:

LG only allow me to watch approved shows on my LG TV - ridiculous​

Ford decide where I drive my car -ridiculous​

......​

​

...wait until MacOS gets locked down the same way​

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[huge_apple_fangirl]

As much as I want Cydia to win this, I don’t think they have a chance. I think it’s been established on things like consoles that the manufacturer can control which software is installed. Also, Apple doesn’t have a majority of market share so the antitrust case is weaker. Still would be nice if iOS had the option of running any app.

 

[ikramerica]

Apple treats the iphone like a company treats the computers it oversees, in that they limit what software is installed, and sacrifice freedom for security.

EVERYTHING you can do on an iPhone you can do on another phone brand. There is no monopoly, only a choice: buy into the Apple model, or buy another phone with a different business model.

 

[MauiPa]

" if Apple did not have an "illegal monopoly" over iOS app distribution". Do they just make up crap, or is there an actual legal theory behind this? I know if this is a thing, I want to be able to install ebooks from other sources on my kindle. I have a few smart locks I would like to use other software on. How about changing the electronic controls on cars? Way cool!

 

[ani4ani]

As much as I want Cydia to win this, I don’t think they have a chance. I think it’s been established on things like consoles that the manufacturer can control which software is installed. Also, Apple doesn’t have a majority of market share so the antitrust case is weaker. Still would be nice if iOS had the option of running any app.

They do have a monopoly on iOS software installations.

the answer that you can buy an android device does not preclude that position.

It's like saying someone controls all cimena and saying well you could all just watch TV instead.

 

[tdar]

Apple does have a Monopoly (but not an illegal one)on the iOS apps store. And that is a feature of the platform. Apple's control of the store and it's cert lock over it, is what makes the platform secure. In the entire market Apple is not the only player. You can offer apps in the Google Play Store, for the largest market for apps- just not the most profitable. You can also have your own store for Android. There is not a Monopoly in the App market. Just the iOS market.

 

[mubert]

Apple treats the iphone like a company treats the computers it oversees, in that they limit what software is installed, and sacrifice freedom for security.

🤔 Last I checked I can install whatever software I want on my Mac - you know, the computer that Apple "oversees".

 

[MauiPa]

If Apple would just allow developers to use their own payment option alongside Apple’s IAP most of this would go away. If users feel a developers payment option is not safe they can still use Apple.

Why? You can always go the the developer's web site and enter your payment information (see Spotify, who pays Apple virtually nothing because almost all users have a subscription directly from Spotify, yet they whine a lot)

 

[theluggage]

Is correct to think that Apple don’t have a monopoly?

Unfortunately, the only way to be sure is to have a bunch of really expensive lawyers argue it out case-by-case.

I can only imagine the level of outrage if Microsoft tried locking down Windows in a similar manner.

Except that Windows has something like 80% of the desktop PC market - with the majority of PC manufacturers licensing WIndows from Microsoft by default leaving virtually zero choice apart from Apple - and that was even higher back in the 1990s when the MS anti-trust concerns were at a peak. If you remember what it was like trying to buy and use a non-Windows computer back then, you'll know what a "dominant position" looks like.

If anybody has a dominant position in the tablet/phone market it is Google who - like MS - don't just use the Google App suite* on their own phones but license it to virtually all phone manufacturers not called "Apple".

(* Android itself is open source but the "standard" google app suite isn't, and AFAIK to get that you have to include the Google store. It's not quite analogous to the App store situation, but it is contentious).

 

[ikramerica]

"It's Apple's platform, they can do whatever they want."

OK, how comfortable are you with:

"It's Microsoft's OS, they can bundle or ban whatever software they want."

"It's Google's search engine, they can sort results however they want."

"You bought Comcast internet service; they can include whichever websites they want you to access."

A. That battle was fought. MS was found to be a monopoly due to size and reach. Their punishment was to allow other browsers and they were forced to help schools around the country to switch to MS from Apple as a form of penitence. LOL

B. Not without disclosing the bias. Otherwise they are committing fraud. Which they are currently doing.

C. There are other options.

 

[DotComCTO]

This lawsuit would be more interesting if it was Google Play saying they want to be able to host/sell iOS apps in addition to Android apps. The idea of being a one-stop-shop regardless of the you use OS.

EDIT: Fixed last sentence.

 

[MauiPa]

Apple does have a Monopoly (but not an illegal one)on the iOS apps store. And that is a feature of the platform. Apple's control of the store and it's cert lock over it, is what makes the platform secure. In the entire market Apple is not the only player. You can offer apps in the Google Play Store, for the largest market for apps- just not the most profitable. You can also have your own store for Android. There is not a Monopoly in the App market. Just the iOS market.

And people who really give a crap about this already buy android. The rest of us want to remain more secure

 

[huge_apple_fangirl]

They do have a monopoly on iOS software installations.

the answer that you can buy an android device does not preclude that position.

It's like saying someone controls all cimena and saying well you could all just watch TV instead.

Yes they have a monopoly on iOS software. But you can always buy an Android- which has much greater market share overall. If Apple had 80% market share the antitrust case would be much stronger, even if Android still existed.

 

[vipergts2207]

Right but what about the slim chance that this gets traction? All of a sudden my iPhone is open to other app stores. Which means more ways for malicious individuals to get crapware on my phone. Why do you think countries built walls around their cities and castles since the beginning of time? To keep out what you don’t want in. Was that unfair for the enemy? Sure, maybe. But I’d take that safety any day.

How are alternative app stores going to get on your phone without you installing them?

 

[zantafio]

I own a plot of land. I left it unused for a few years.

Then one day I decided to build a flea market on my plot of land.

Vendors would be selling inside my flea market whatever stuff they want (as long as I agree as I don't want dildos or drugs in my flea market!) in exchange of a rent to get a both in MY flea market on MY plot of land.

Then one day a guy named Cydia tells me he's going to sue me for having a monopoly of flea market on my own plot of land because he thinks he should have a right to build his own flea market (where he would let vendors sell dildos and drugs) on MY own plot of land.

Can you imagine if we were living in this kind of world??

 

[MauiPa]

One of the main problems is that Apple thinks they are selling ALL of us a "Managed" Device !

They don't think we actually own what we purchase !

That's the crux of it !

Throttling Perf is just one example of it.

Limiting what apps a User can OR cannot install is clearly another.

Cook should simply Drop the Apple Tax to 15% across the Board, with NO restrictions & NO thresholds !

either you are deliberately misleading, or have not really been paying attention. Apple was never guilty of "throttling" as you say. It made a judgement to fix batteries which were in need of replacement such that they could operate the phone without causing a crash. Where they went wrong was in not telling the consumers about the fix, and that customers then might not have been told that they could fix their phone's by repairing an old battery instead of buying a new phone. As apparently some people alleged that they were told. They paid dearly for that omission, and changed the fix to a disclosed and switchable option for the consumer. No bad battery - not "throttling".

 

[robertcoogan]

"Apple also must maintain control over the way software is installed on the ‌iPhone‌ to prevent customers from accidentally downloading viruses and malware, which iPhones would be more susceptible to with a third-party ‌App Store‌."

There's the one argument that kills Cydia's claim. But they and others would rather complain about the lack of an open market instead. Which makes others more money, and makes Apple devices more vulnerable. I like being able to customize my stuff too - but not at the expense of my information.

Cydia should go cry in the corner with Epic.

#cydia #Apple #jailbreak

 

[robertcoogan]

Good old jailbreak ... did it for a year or so back then, gave me a few nice tweaks, but the price for the tweaks was a phone constantly crashing, required a lot of time to weed out the bad tweaks. Stopped doing it at some point since a stable iOS was more important than a few teaks.

Current versions are a lot more stable. I have an old iPhone that has been repurposed as an iPod, and I use Cydia on that.

 

[jinnj]

This is literally the reason not to have apps outside of the Apple Store! Super Spreader of iOS Malware!

 

[smetvid]

Please no. Users want Apple to stay a trustworthy platform and not have to worry about getting tricked into things. Can we for once have one computing platform free from BS and keep a user friendly experience? The users matter here a lot more than a developer that wants to copy the App Store to take their own cut of the pie. Users really do not benefit from 3rd party stores at all unless its to get apps that are questionable and could be stealing their data or worse.

 

[koruki]

all the moaning about "but its my phone" yeah its your phone, so hack it all you like, Apple is securing their phone for the rest of the customers who don't want use this wild west platform. The only thing thats changed is that its now harder to jailbreak than before. What's stopping you from going to Android when you bought an iPhone from this big bad evil company that makes it hard to install random apps into. It's not like Apple is coming to your house and arresting you for installing whatever apps you like, if you find a way to do it then do it.

 

[koruki]

I'm a robot, I will obey.....

In any other walk of life you know this would be absolutely ridiculous:

LG only allow me to watch approved shows on my LG TV - ridiculous​

Ford decide where I drive my car -ridiculous​

......​

​

...wait until MacOS gets locked down the same way​

​

​

​

I am not a robot, I am smarter than the rest of you people....

In other walk of life I wouldn't have bought LG or Ford KNOWING about that limitiation, did it occur to you that a lo to iPhone customers bought the iPhone because it was secured, I mean it already cost more than than a run of the mill Android phone so we didn't exactly buy the iPhone cause it was a bargain.

 

[vipergts2207]

I own a plot of land. I left it unused for a few years.

Then one day I decided to build a flea market on my plot of land.

Vendors would be selling inside my flea market whatever stuff they want (as long as I agree as I don't want dildos or drugs in my flea market!) in exchange of a rent to get a both in MY flea market on MY plot of land.

Then one day a guy named Cydia tells me he's going to sue me for having a monopoly of flea market on my own plot of land because he thinks he should have a right to build his own flea market (where he would let vendors sell dildos and drugs) on MY own plot of land.

Can you imagine if we were living in this kind of world??

What your hypothetical is missing is that in reality there are thousands of other flea markets to shop at besides yours. With the smartphone scenario there are only two “flea markets”, iOS and Android. A duopoly is subject to anti-trust laws as well, not just monopolies. Additionally, in your example all of the land (phone OS) is already owned by Apple and Google so there’s nowhere else available for people to sell their wares (apps).

 

[jinnj]

How so? I can purchase xbox games on disc, I can buy them digitally from MS and also from a whole multitude of places.

You can't publish those disc-based games without Sony's approval and without giving them a cut from the game sales. (Also need to give the retailer a cut and the disc presser, printer, manual (inserts) then you need to pay to have your digital updates as well!