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Apple defenders will dismiss market share when comparing Android and iOS and claim that share of profits is all that counts. But they're happy to use market sha

Apple defenders will dismiss market share when comparing Android and iOS and claim that share of profits is all that counts. But they're happy to use market share to justify sanctions against Google. You can't have it both ways folks. The fact is that Apple controls enough of the users that everybody wants that they have at least as much influence as Google does in mobile. That they've chosen to protect their fat profit margins and accumulate the largest pile of corporate cash in history while ignoring customers that can't afford premium devices should not insulate them from similar scrutiny. If the EU wants to preserve any credibility on these issues they should take a hard look at Apple's refusal to allow other browser engines on iOS.

SparklingCotton 8y ago
> If the EU wants to preserve any credibility .. It's the other way around. EU is building credibility that seems to be lacking elsewhere by penalizing anti-competitive behavior.
- ahartmetz 8y ago
  Due to regulatory capture and states' legitimate self-interest, EU keeps US corporations in check and vice versa. Better than nothing.
mustacheemperor 8y ago
Looking at the comment below enumerating the reasons for the ruling, I don't see any overlap between what Google is being fined for and Apple's business practices. Apple isn't forcing 3rd party OEMs to install Safari on their hardware in order to run Apple apps because Apple makes all their own hardware. iOS is not an open source OS meant to be available to third parties, and Apple doesn't have a search engine to pay carriers to mandate. >requiring mobile manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Google Chrome browser and requiring them to set Google Search as default search service on their devices, as a condition to license certain Google proprietary apps; >preventing manufacturers from selling smart mobile devices running on competing operating systems based on the Android open source code; >giving financial incentives to manufacturers and mobile network operators on condition that they exclusively pre-install Google Search on their devices.
- cageface 8y ago
  You missed my point. Effectively there is more than one kind of monopoly and Apple has just as much control over the mobile space as Google does and abuses it in their own way by pushing their browser, disallowing third party app stores and alternative default mail, maps, etc. Expect to see more of this as Apple starts to rely more and more on services revenue. Apple currently pulls in an astonishing 87% of mobile profits. Why on earth should they be excluded from anti-trust scrutiny? https://www.investors.com/news/technology/click/apple-rakes-in-bulk-of-smartphone-profits-but-small-slice-of-unit-sales/ https://www.investors.com/news/technology/click/apple-rakes-...
  - ahartmetz 8y ago
    Because they don't control the devices of 87% of users. Their profits are good for them and all, but have no direct bearing on their ability to exert unfair influence, especially in other markets (e.g. search engines).
    - cageface 8y ago
      They have plenty of influence for developers, which means they have influence for consumers. They have a huge say in what apps and websites get built and how because everybody has to play by their rules to get on their lucrative platform. Do you think you could launch a successful search engine today that wasn't available on iOS? Take Safari as a case in point. Apple doesn't allow other browsers on their platform which means webdevs have been limited to the parts of the web stack that Apple supports. Which, until recently, was falling pretty far behind the state of the art.
      - ahartmetz 8y ago
        Marketshare is marketshare and the numbers are clear. Yes, Apple is more influential than its marketshare indicates, but that is hard to quantify (especially legally) and in any case probably not as large an effect as you think.
  - redial 8y ago
rk06 8y ago
Google is being accused of using its dominance to force __manufactures__ into setting Google search as default, Chrome as default browser and not selling phones with Android competitor like LineageOS Apple is incapable of abusing manufacturers as Apple does not work with manufacturers at all. The entire discussion simply does not apply to Apple.

SparklingCotton 8y ago

> If the EU wants to preserve any credibility .. It's the other way around. EU is building credibility that seems to be lacking elsewhere by penalizing anti-competitive behavior.

ahartmetz 8y ago
Due to regulatory capture and states' legitimate self-interest, EU keeps US corporations in check and vice versa. Better than nothing.

mustacheemperor 8y ago

Looking at the comment below enumerating the reasons for the ruling, I don't see any overlap between what Google is being fined for and Apple's business practices. Apple isn't forcing 3rd party OEMs to install Safari on their hardware in order to run Apple apps because Apple makes all their own hardware. iOS is not an open source OS meant to be available to third parties, and Apple doesn't have a search engine to pay carriers to mandate. >requiring mobile manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Google Chrome browser and requiring them to set Google Search as default search service on their devices, as a condition to license certain Google proprietary apps; >preventing manufacturers from selling smart mobile devices running on competing operating systems based on the Android open source code; >giving financial incentives to manufacturers and mobile network operators on condition that they exclusively pre-install Google Search on their devices.

cageface 8y ago
You missed my point. Effectively there is more than one kind of monopoly and Apple has just as much control over the mobile space as Google does and abuses it in their own way by pushing their browser, disallowing third party app stores and alternative default mail, maps, etc. Expect to see more of this as Apple starts to rely more and more on services revenue. Apple currently pulls in an astonishing 87% of mobile profits. Why on earth should they be excluded from anti-trust scrutiny? https://www.investors.com/news/technology/click/apple-rakes-in-bulk-of-smartphone-profits-but-small-slice-of-unit-sales/ https://www.investors.com/news/technology/click/apple-rakes-...
- ahartmetz 8y ago
  Because they don't control the devices of 87% of users. Their profits are good for them and all, but have no direct bearing on their ability to exert unfair influence, especially in other markets (e.g. search engines).
  - cageface 8y ago
    They have plenty of influence for developers, which means they have influence for consumers. They have a huge say in what apps and websites get built and how because everybody has to play by their rules to get on their lucrative platform. Do you think you could launch a successful search engine today that wasn't available on iOS? Take Safari as a case in point. Apple doesn't allow other browsers on their platform which means webdevs have been limited to the parts of the web stack that Apple supports. Which, until recently, was falling pretty far behind the state of the art.
    - ahartmetz 8y ago
      Marketshare is marketshare and the numbers are clear. Yes, Apple is more influential than its marketshare indicates, but that is hard to quantify (especially legally) and in any case probably not as large an effect as you think.
- redial 8y ago

rk06 8y ago

Google is being accused of using its dominance to force __manufactures__ into setting Google search as default, Chrome as default browser and not selling phones with Android competitor like LineageOS Apple is incapable of abusing manufacturers as Apple does not work with manufacturers at all. The entire discussion simply does not apply to Apple.