Apple has kept an illegal monopoly over smartphones in US, Justice Department says in antitrust suit

https://apnews.com ^ | 3/21/2024 | MICHAEL LIEDTKE, LINDSAY WHITEHURST AND MIKE BALSAMO

[bigbob]

As one who said he’d never own an iPhone, after months/years of putting up with crappy Android devices that end up shitting themselves, I relented and went to Apple, which work every time, year after year. So they may have a monopoly on smartphones that actually just work.

[SunkenCiv]

Now all the DOJ/China boosters will come out of the closet, and pretend to be fighting the homosexual agenda.

[zeugma]

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Apple won’t comply with DOJ demands to open locked phones for them?

Very, very likely. The feral government does not believe anything in your life should be private, while at the same time claiming that everything is "classified".

[monkeyshine]

Well if you send me a text to my iPhone, it will be in a green bubble instead of a blue bubble. And I will look down my nose at you for buying a cheap phone.

[NorthMountain]

I’m no fan of Apple but WTF, bro?

Android, anyone?

[Sgt_Schultze]

I wish they would steal the idea for a dialer update where you can start spelling a name with the numbers buttons and suggestions come up. Right now, you have the contact list, recent calls, and favorites.

[HamiltonJay]

Yea, this seems weird to me...

Obviously Apple is the big dog, with 60% market share, but that means 40% of the market is something else (mostly android of course)...

Standard Oil by comparison contolled 90% of the Oil Market when it was busted up

I’m curious what the DOJ thinks Apple has done to stifle competition (not saying they haven’t done anything, all companies try their best to protect their fiefdoms).

[irishjuggler]

I too was Android for approx. 14 years before finally switching to iphone. It wasn’t any sort of Apple “monopoly” that made me switch. It was my choice based on overall features. Any of us can walk into any Best Buy or Wal-Mart or Verizon/T-Mobile/AT&T and easily switch to an Android device in probably 1 hour or less

[quilterdebbie]

Truth!

[DouglasKC]

Are they just going after cash now or is there someone at Apple who is defying the government narrative about something? Becuase there is no monopoly. Plenty of competition.

[linMcHlp]

The governments want to assume/seize rights that are Apple’s. The governments are trying to force Apple to accept feature and software squatters on Apple’s ecosystem/property.

[null and void]

A patent provides a legal monopoly over the covered intellectual property for the duration of the patent, these days 20 years from the filing date, formerly 17 years from the issue date.

That’s the law, designed specifically to encourage and reward innovation.

[Gene Eric]

So what’s the connection to the handouts to the illegals?

[PIF]

Apple has kept an illegal monopoly over smartphones in US, Justice Department says in a Google inspired antitrust suit

[RainMan]

Not necessarily true. Facetime is increasingly being used in business and you cant get it on Android. It is essentially boxing out the competition.

There was a term in the way-back machine called a “Killer App”. It denoted an application that drove everyone to a specific technology. The acceptance of PCs into the workplace was driven by email, the original Killer App.

Texting was a Killer App that originally drove adoption of beepers, beepers in turn caused phone manufacturers to include texting on phones to drive out beepers.

Social media, and specifically Facebook drove the acceptance of Smartphones with children. Facebook became the behemoth they are because they were a Killer App.

Google was a Killer App that drove people away from traditional research methods to looking online.

And the list goes on. If you monopolize a killer app on a specific platform, then that is still grounds for anti-trust.

[KarlInOhio]

About the only point the government could argue a monopoly is exclusive contracts with carriers. My last phone company went to Apple only, so when I wanted to replace my Android phone I had to change carrier. The old company has since relented and will sell and connect Android phones again.

[Myrddin]

I'm an Android cell phone user. Mostly Samsung in recent years. Apple has nothing to do with it. Apple does not have a monopoly. It's just government overreach looking for deep pockets to fund illegal aliens and foreign wars.

[PIF]

And I recognize that Apple steals a lot of ideas from Android phones.
—

Google stole the interface and interoperability from APPL for its Android phone OS

[PIF]

In China Apple ain’t so hot
—

In China the CCP forbid use of iPhones for government use. Plus the ‘Let it Rot’ movement by young people buys only the cheapest things, even to left over restaurant food. Expensive smart phones are not on their lists.

[Myrddin]

My cellphones are Samsung Android devices, but I have an Apple iPad to leverage some applications that get a better implementation on Apple vs Android or Windows PC. When I'm doing embedded development, I choose Windows because the best tools are hosted there. When doing network servers, I choose Linux because the best servers on built on that platform. There is merit in diversity of platforms just as there is merit in diversity of genetics for hybrid vigor. It protects against a wipe out of everything due to a common vulnerability.