3 ms·

At that time Microsoft had almost complete dominance of the operating system market, at 93%, which is the point. There was nothing like the counterpart to it th

At that time Microsoft had almost complete dominance of the operating system market, at 93%, which is the point. There was nothing like the counterpart to it that iOS is to Android today. Android may look like it's similarly dominant but in the most valuable markets it's way closer to parity and if you exclude the cheap low end devices it's actually a minority. Apple isn't raking in 85% of the profits in mobile for nothing. Be careful what you wish for. A lot of improvements in iOS in recent years were inspired by Android.

close04 8y ago
At this time Android has 87% market share. And climbing. The only thing I wish for is for none of these companies to be allowed to get the entire pie. Those improvements you talk about? They were done during a fight when they were more or less tied with the opponent. The closer you are to 100% market share, the fewer and far between they are. You want proof? Look at MS, or Intel. The moment they got dominance they coasted on it for years with no tangible improvement to anything else but their bottom line. And you seem to think that I must be an iOS fan and probably hate Google. My main phone is Android and has been for 7 years now (although I tend to own and use one of each Windows, iOS, BB10). That's exactly why I want to see more free competition. P.S. Google deals in user data, not selling phones. So a valuable market is one that gives them access to that data. One with lots of users. The phone they use is irrelevant.
- cageface 8y ago
  It’s 55% in the US, 32% in Japan, and only 75% in Europe. It doesn’t make any sense to pretend that an iPhone and a low end Chinese burner phone are even remotely in the same category of device. And in other markets Apple only has a minority share because they’d rather protect their unprecedented profit margins than sell something those people can afford. Those are the most valuable markets and even in those markets startups and developers target iOS first. If you kneecap Android you’re just putting Apple even more in the driver seat than they are today. I still haven’t heard anyone explain how they think this recent ruling makes anything better. Who is going to benefit from this?
  - close04 8y ago
    I'm sorry but I don't think you understand where Google's position is here and where the revenue is coming from. Here's a primer: https://arkenea.com/blog/big-tech-companies-user-worth/ https://arkenea.com/blog/big-tech-companies-user-worth/ Notice how conspicuously absent is the price of the phone or the number of apps you choose to buy. It's not just Android, it's also the Google apps that come with it (you know, the ones that an OEM loses access to if it tries to compete). And the revenue is not a percentage from every expensive phone you buy in the US. It's the user data that phone, cheap or expensive, gives them access to. So as long as the phone is able to provide data about your location, browsing habits, emails, music preference, searches, etc. Google will never care if it's a cheap one. Why do you think Google complies with every request it gets from the government of one of its biggest markets that you forgot to mention, China? Because access to that trove of user data is almost priceless. Why do you think the likes of Facebook want to give free internet in Africa? For a Nobel prize? No, it's because that's paving the way to accessing more user data. > I still haven’t heard anyone explain how they think this recent ruling makes anything better. Who is going to benefit from this? The customers. I see you are commenting a lot but probably didn't bother to read the article linked here on HN. You are asking questions that have very logical answers available everywhere you look, even in real life. Which makes me believe you're not actually trying to get an answer, you're suggesting that competition law is wrong. Possibly just when some companies have to suffer.
    - cageface 8y ago
      So as long as the phone is able to provide data about your location, browsing habits, emails, music preference, searches, etc. Google will never care if it's a cheap one. User data of users with money is more valuable than data of users without. Of course Google cares about the price of the phone because it’s very closely correlated with how much disposable income the user has. It’s exactly the same reason app developers prioritize iOS even though it has a minority share and those developers of course never see a penny of the purchase price of the phone. iOS users are worth more because they spend more on devices AND services. I think you and a lot of other commentators on this are letting your paranoia cloud your judgement. The concepts are not difficult to grasp.

close04 8y ago

At this time Android has 87% market share. And climbing. The only thing I wish for is for none of these companies to be allowed to get the entire pie. Those improvements you talk about? They were done during a fight when they were more or less tied with the opponent. The closer you are to 100% market share, the fewer and far between they are. You want proof? Look at MS, or Intel. The moment they got dominance they coasted on it for years with no tangible improvement to anything else but their bottom line. And you seem to think that I must be an iOS fan and probably hate Google. My main phone is Android and has been for 7 years now (although I tend to own and use one of each Windows, iOS, BB10). That's exactly why I want to see more free competition. P.S. Google deals in user data, not selling phones. So a valuable market is one that gives them access to that data. One with lots of users. The phone they use is irrelevant.

cageface 8y ago
It’s 55% in the US, 32% in Japan, and only 75% in Europe. It doesn’t make any sense to pretend that an iPhone and a low end Chinese burner phone are even remotely in the same category of device. And in other markets Apple only has a minority share because they’d rather protect their unprecedented profit margins than sell something those people can afford. Those are the most valuable markets and even in those markets startups and developers target iOS first. If you kneecap Android you’re just putting Apple even more in the driver seat than they are today. I still haven’t heard anyone explain how they think this recent ruling makes anything better. Who is going to benefit from this?
- close04 8y ago
  I'm sorry but I don't think you understand where Google's position is here and where the revenue is coming from. Here's a primer: https://arkenea.com/blog/big-tech-companies-user-worth/ https://arkenea.com/blog/big-tech-companies-user-worth/ Notice how conspicuously absent is the price of the phone or the number of apps you choose to buy. It's not just Android, it's also the Google apps that come with it (you know, the ones that an OEM loses access to if it tries to compete). And the revenue is not a percentage from every expensive phone you buy in the US. It's the user data that phone, cheap or expensive, gives them access to. So as long as the phone is able to provide data about your location, browsing habits, emails, music preference, searches, etc. Google will never care if it's a cheap one. Why do you think Google complies with every request it gets from the government of one of its biggest markets that you forgot to mention, China? Because access to that trove of user data is almost priceless. Why do you think the likes of Facebook want to give free internet in Africa? For a Nobel prize? No, it's because that's paving the way to accessing more user data. > I still haven’t heard anyone explain how they think this recent ruling makes anything better. Who is going to benefit from this? The customers. I see you are commenting a lot but probably didn't bother to read the article linked here on HN. You are asking questions that have very logical answers available everywhere you look, even in real life. Which makes me believe you're not actually trying to get an answer, you're suggesting that competition law is wrong. Possibly just when some companies have to suffer.
  - cageface 8y ago
    So as long as the phone is able to provide data about your location, browsing habits, emails, music preference, searches, etc. Google will never care if it's a cheap one. User data of users with money is more valuable than data of users without. Of course Google cares about the price of the phone because it’s very closely correlated with how much disposable income the user has. It’s exactly the same reason app developers prioritize iOS even though it has a minority share and those developers of course never see a penny of the purchase price of the phone. iOS users are worth more because they spend more on devices AND services. I think you and a lot of other commentators on this are letting your paranoia cloud your judgement. The concepts are not difficult to grasp.