3 ms·

It really depends on market definition to be honest. If one were to define a market for native app distribution services on iOS smartphones, then I think there

• AnthonyMouse 6y ago
  And there is a strong case for defining the market that way, because it represents a discrete set of customers. Approximately none of the people who use the iOS app store also use Google Play, because it doesn't work on their phones. Whereas if you say "the Walmart market for windshield wipers" that isn't a discrete set of customers, because the same people can walk across the street to Target and buy windshield wipers for the same car over there.
  • edmundsauto 6y ago
    How are customers discrete? I own both android and iOS devices.
    • AnthonyMouse 6y ago
      99% of people don't, and even you have to use the store that corresponds to the device you want to use the app with. If one company actually had a monopoly on windshield wipers for cars and another had a monopoly on windshield wipers for trucks, that doesn't change just because there is somebody who has both a car and a truck. When you need windshield wipers for your car, there is still only one place you could get them.
      • edmundsauto 6y ago
        But doesn't that mean the basis for the argument is heavily in how you define the market? How people define the market feels entirely arbitrary to me -- supporters of the antitrust investigation scope it to "iOS", while opponents scope it to "smartphones". Both are valid, but it's our personal position that drives how we define market. That seems backwards.