Apple is in trouble. The US Department of Justice charged it with using an illegal monopoly in the smartphone industry.
Apple is facing an accusation that it operated an illegal monopoly in the smartphone industry in a wide-ranging new antitrust lawsuit that seeks to upend multiple of the ways Apple locks down iPhones.
The matter is that the US government, the DOJ, along with 16 state and district attorneys general, claims that Apple raises prices for consumers as well as developers, not only this but also restricts how application makers can operate on iPhones, and this is all just to keep users locked into their ecosystem.
To make the case strong, the government points to different ways in which Apple has reportedly maintained its monopoly unlawfully:
- Apple has blocked cloud-streaming applications for video games, which would reduce the requirement for much more costly hardware.
- Disarranging “super apps” will encircle various programs and also make it easier for iPhone users to switch to competing devices, possibly degrading “iOS stickiness.”
- Apple overpowers the quality of messaging between the iPhone and Android.
- It makes the functionality of third-party smartwatches limited with its iPhones and makes it harder for users of Apple Watch to switch from the iPhone due to compatibility issues.
- It blocks third-party developers from creating competing digital wallets with tap-to-pay functionality for the iPhone.
However, for years, Apple has continuously responded to competitive threads by imposing a series of claims against it. Apple denies all the claims of breaking the market rules and using illegal monopolies. And it will probably try to get the case dismissed.
After an investigation, the government admits the challenge of taking on a powerful brand such as Apple. However, this lawsuit also follows similar ones against Google and Microsoft. The conclusion of the case is that the court has ordered Apple to stop anti-competitive practices.
Via – The Verge
