Apple owns its products not the EU. The EU has no right to dictate to Apple how its products operate. As I’ve said before, the EU has every right to build their own platforms but it’s obvious they don’t have the ability or talent to design and manufacture anything people, including those in EU countries, want. It’s time to boycott everything made in the EU but I’m not so sure there’s actually anything they make I really want.
The EU has every right to level playing fields and counter consumer harm and the stifling of innovation.
That has long been the case.
In the 'digital' world, the same ideas are applicable but new laws were needed specifically for the kind of cases explained here.
Do you remember the world pre-pdf?
Interoperability is key to the points mentioned above and for progress.
Mechanisms will have to be created and perfected but technology has the tendency to outpace legislation so these situations will persist until things get settled.
This isn't an Apple thing.
It's a EU thing! ICT carriers were forced to open up their technologies years ago and share their resources to a degree.
This isn't like the US where for as long as I can remember (and for all I know, may still be the case) your place of residence was a limiting factor to which carriers you could choose from.
I can opt for a virtual carrier which will use the infrastructure of one of the bigger players. That allows for competition to exist.
Left to its own devices, Apple does not allow for competition to exist. We know this and this is precisely why it is being forced to open up in certain areas (and not only the EU).
Of course, Apple is free to pull out of the EU. So is Google and Meta et al. Will they? Nope because, as you seem unwilling to contemplate, any pull-out would be met with very swift movements to fill any gaps.
You personally, may well be able to get by without EU products, but what would Apple's current supply chain do without ASML?
So you would be okay if the United States demands that ASML open up its intellectual property and designs to American companies?
It's ironic that you bring up ASML specifically, as the idea of 'its' IP is part of the current geopolitical problem. The weaponisation of technology.
The US is claiming the right to prevent ASML from going about its normal business on the grounds that part of its IP is 'US origin' and including in that claim, the idea that even if ASML bought a US company 100% it's IP is still US origin and the US has worldwide rights over its use.
ASML is not happy. Its former and current CEO have made that clear.
The EU is not attempting anything similar. It is requiring interoperability in certain fields and only within its borders.
When I mentioned the situation with carriers, they were sharing their equipment functionality and basing it on standards. The standards that make interoperability possible in the first place.
That is happening across the EU with all its interoperability requirements. This year, for example, all bank transfers have to be 'instant'. The fintech sector had to work together to make it happen. The banking sector has gone through a lot of interoperability requirements and is far more critical than probably many other sectors.
Apple doesn't make its IP available for others to take. It makes it available for others to use and it does so by providing APIs to gain access to that IP.
The problem, and it's been going on for years, is that things like messaging have been used for lock in.
That is what the EU (and the DoJ) wants to change. The things that companies like Apple et al actively use to limit user choice, stifle innovation and limit competition.
And the EU is specifically targeting gatekeepers. Those with the power to implement those harmful decisions.
Apple owns its products not the EU. The EU has no right to dictate to Apple how its products operate. As I’ve said before, the EU has every right to build their own platforms but it’s obvious they don’t have the ability or talent to design and manufacture anything people, including those in EU countries, want. It’s time to boycott everything made in the EU but I’m not so sure there’s actually anything they make I really want.
The EU has every right to level playing fields and counter consumer harm and the stifling of innovation.
That has long been the case.
In the 'digital' world, the same ideas are applicable but new laws were needed specifically for the kind of cases explained here.
Do you remember the world pre-pdf?
Interoperability is key to the points mentioned above and for progress.
Mechanisms will have to be created and perfected but technology has the tendency to outpace legislation so these situations will persist until things get settled.
This isn't an Apple thing.
It's a EU thing! ICT carriers were forced to open up their technologies years ago and share their resources to a degree.
This isn't like the US where for as long as I can remember (and for all I know, may still be the case) your place of residence was a limiting factor to which carriers you could choose from.
I can opt for a virtual carrier which will use the infrastructure of one of the bigger players. That allows for competition to exist.
Left to its own devices, Apple does not allow for competition to exist. We know this and this is precisely why it is being forced to open up in certain areas (and not only the EU).
Of course, Apple is free to pull out of the EU. So is Google and Meta et al. Will they? Nope because, as you seem unwilling to contemplate, any pull-out would be met with very swift movements to fill any gaps.
You personally, may well be able to get by without EU products, but what would Apple's current supply chain do without ASML?
1. PDF sucks. Yes, I remember the world pre-PDF. We had text files. Which didn't suck. And which weren't proprietary. 2. "Interoperability" already exists and doesn't require letting Meta steal Apple users' private data. That's not going to happen, btw. Apple will pull out of the EU before letting it dictate user privacy rules to it. 3. "Apple does not allow for competition to exist" is vague mealy-mouthed idiocy. There's plenty of competition. 4. Without ASML? Make my day. Please. That's laughable. ASML isn't going to stop selling its stuff. Don't make stupid empty threats that you can't back up. I also note that you're forced to use TWO qualifiers here rather than talking directly about Apple. 5. The EU's overreach here is as shocking as its lack of cluefulness.
'Text' files absolutely did suck. If they didn't, and proprietary formats hadn't been used as yet another lock-in mechanism, pdf (even with its issues) would never have been a success.
'interoperability' clearly has not existed, and once again, 'proprietary' systems were used to lock users in. iMessage is a classic example with court documents revealing Apple's internal communication on the matter.
Apple has not allowed competition to exist. It has not ever communicated the limitations it imposes on users to those same users. It did not allow third parties to use their own wallet systems. It did not allow alternative App Stores. It actively prohibited developers from steering users to alternative payment systems. It deliberately withheld access to iPhone NFC options to many institutions. Where have you been? It did not allow browsers to use anything except WebKit. There are court cases open across the world (including the US) tackling this very issue.
ASML? We aren't talking about who it will sell or won't sell to. The point was what would happen to Apple's supply chain without ASML technology. The irony is that Trump is actually deciding who ASML can't sell to. Extraterritorial overreach of the highest order.
John Gruber makes a good example on Daring Fireball. AirDrop is not an industry standard but a piece of Apple IP that they use to differentiate their offering from other industry players. Why should they be forced to share that tech with other manufacturers or software developers? Why should they be forced to open low level processes to third parties?
The vast majority of consumers - Europeans included - just want a well made and secure smartphone. We buy iPhones because of their quality construction and privacy/security differentiators and with knowledge of its "walled garden." Apple has <25% market share in Europe, so it's nowhere near the dominant (or monopolist) OS or hardware manufacturer. I don't see a lot of European consumers screaming for change, and there are plenty of Android-based options here, more so than in the US. What exactly is the EU trying to protect its citizens from here? How are European consumers being actively harmed by Apple?
It would seem that the EU would be better off creating the economic and regulatory conditions that would encourage and allow European companies to develop their own OSes, hardware, etc. While that will take time, simply targeting Apple isn't going to accomplish that. Apple has enough problems dealing with Trump in its primary market, so it will probably just result in the loss of features and functionality for European consumers.
John Gruber makes a good example on Daring Fireball. AirDrop is not an industry standard but a piece of Apple IP that they use to differentiate their offering from other industry players. Why should they be forced to share that tech with other manufacturers or software developers? Why should they be forced to open low level processes to third parties?
The vast majority of consumers - Europeans included - just want a well made and secure smartphone. We buy iPhones because of their quality construction and privacy/security differentiators and with knowledge of its "walled garden." Apple has <25% market share in Europe, so it's nowhere near the dominant (or monopolist) OS or hardware manufacturer. I don't see a lot of European consumers screaming for change, and there are plenty of Android-based options here, more so than in the US. What exactly is the EU trying to protect its citizens from here? How are European consumers being actively harmed by Apple?
It would seem that the EU would be better off creating the economic and regulatory conditions that would encourage and allow European companies to develop their own OSes, hardware, etc. While that will take time, simply targeting Apple isn't going to accomplish that. Apple has enough problems dealing with Trump in its primary market, so it will probably just result in the loss of features and functionality for European consumers.
Then why has the iPhone never (AFAIK) supported the Bluetooth file transfer profile?
Something that has been around for years.
The reason is clear. That is an interoperable direct file transfer method but is not in the interest of Apple's lock in mentality.
John Gruber makes a good example on Daring Fireball. AirDrop is not an industry standard but a piece of Apple IP that they use to differentiate their offering from other industry players. Why should they be forced to share that tech with other manufacturers or software developers? Why should they be forced to open low level processes to third parties?
The vast majority of consumers - Europeans included - just want a well made and secure smartphone. We buy iPhones because of their quality construction and privacy/security differentiators and with knowledge of its "walled garden." Apple has <25% market share in Europe, so it's nowhere near the dominant (or monopolist) OS or hardware manufacturer. I don't see a lot of European consumers screaming for change, and there are plenty of Android-based options here, more so than in the US. What exactly is the EU trying to protect its citizens from here? How are European consumers being actively harmed by Apple?
It would seem that the EU would be better off creating the economic and regulatory conditions that would encourage and allow European companies to develop their own OSes, hardware, etc. While that will take time, simply targeting Apple isn't going to accomplish that. Apple has enough problems dealing with Trump in its primary market, so it will probably just result in the loss of features and functionality for European consumers.
Then why has the iPhone never (AFAIK) supported the Bluetooth file transfer profile?
Something that has been around for years.
The reason is clear. That is an interoperable direct file transfer method but is not in the interest of Apple's lock in mentality.
Maybe Apple feels that they have superior first-party technology to offer to their users. Maybe they don't give a damn about consumers who don't buy their products. Maybe Apple, Google and MS have not taken the time to agree to a single shared BT + WiFi technology or don't find it important enough. Maybe Apple believes that since it is not a monopoly in Europe that the EU should not mandate what they can and cannot do with each and every bit of their IP. Maybe they object to the moving target of European demands and have decided that they can't win no matter what they do. Maybe they've decided that it would hurt Europe more to lose Apple than the other way around. Who knows?
If they're unhappy with Apple and its products, Europeans can exercise a bit of agency and choose from myriad alternative smartphones. Alternatively, Europe could build its own damn ecosystem. They managed to do it with AirBus, so why not smartphones?
Clearly, the best and only really viable option is for Apple to sell dumbed down iPhones in the EU, devices that don't receive the latest technology and even have some features removed. But they should make it absolutely clear that they are being forced to adopt this course by the actions of the EU. Obviously, some of the posters in this thread either work for the EU or have drunk so much EU koolaid that they aren't able to be objective about this but simply defend everything the EU does. But, I imagine the majority of EU citizens would rather have the latest Apple technology and privacy protections a lot more than they want random apps to have access to all of their personal data, or to be able to surreptitiously transfer files between devices. So, maybe they'll eventually wake up as they fall behind in what's available to them and what's protected for them and start demanding change.
But, the main thing is for Apple to continue to make it entirely clear that it is the EU government that is standing in the way of progress for EU citizens, and that it's up to EU citizens to change that.
Clearly, the best and only really viable option is for Apple to sell dumbed down iPhones in the EU, devices that don't receive the latest technology and even have some features removed.
Mediocre by design How US car manufacturers and Apple won the EU through subpar products
Clearly, the best and only really viable option is for Apple to sell dumbed down iPhones in the EU, devices that don't receive the latest technology and even have some features removed.
Mediocre by design How US car manufacturers and Apple won the EU through subpar products
Could I get a signed copy?
Well, you know, it's like, you don't wear your best watch into a slum, because some low life might steal it from you.
The irony of this is how Apple basically exported its own technology by extensively training its contract manufacturers in other countries and has enabled its competitors.
Apple owns its products not the EU. The EU has no right to dictate to Apple how its products operate. As I’ve said before, the EU has every right to build their own platforms but it’s obvious they don’t have the ability or talent to design and manufacture anything people, including those in EU countries, want. It’s time to boycott everything made in the EU but I’m not so sure there’s actually anything they make I really want.
Where do you think TSMC gets the lithography machines it uses to fabricate Apple’s chips?
Apple owns its products not the EU. The EU has no right to dictate to Apple how its products operate. As I’ve said before, the EU has every right to build their own platforms but it’s obvious they don’t have the ability or talent to design and manufacture anything people, including those in EU countries, want. It’s time to boycott everything made in the EU but I’m not so sure there’s actually anything they make I really want.
Tell that to car or appliance makers.. all industries are regulated wherever they are
And yet whirlpool isn’t forced to share its tech with Maytag or vice versa.
The EU has every right to level playing fields and counter consumer harm and the stifling of innovation.
...
Is there anything the EU could possibly demand of Apple that you would not call "leveling the playing field"? Should Apple's chip team be required to provide chips to Apple's competitors? Should Apple be required to license iOS to its competitors? Should it be required to allow installation of alternate OSes on iPhone and iPad? Do you have any sane legal theory of which features of its products a company should be allowed to control, and which it should be forced to turn into third-party flea markets — or do you say "leveling the playing field" when you really mean leveling Apple with any frightfully damaging fairness fantasy that comes down the regulatory pike, simply so that Apple won't be so successful any more, and the playing field therefore will be more "level"?
I don’t know about the history of the EU’s antitrust but in the US we have had antitrust laws for about 130 years and reviewing the famous cases of IBM and AT&T you will see that all those hypotheticals you listed were basically done to those two companies.
Apple owns its products not the EU. The EU has no right to dictate to Apple how its products operate. As I’ve said before, the EU has every right to build their own platforms but it’s obvious they don’t have the ability or talent to design and manufacture anything people, including those in EU countries, want. It’s time to boycott everything made in the EU but I’m not so sure there’s actually anything they make I really want.
The EU absolutely can dictate to Apple how aspects of its products operate, that's what EU law is for. If you want to sell tech, fruit, cars, aeroplanes, clothes or whatever to members states of the EU then those products must abide by the rules that the EU sets. This will be in just the same way that the USA dictates the standards products sold there must meet (unless the USA is content to have dog meat sold as beef and TVs sold with totally unsafe wiring and cars made of old bits of rusty tin). They can be challenged, as Apple is doing and depending on the result Apple can either comply or withdraw from the market. In this case, I think the EU is overreaching and Apple is in the right (in what I know of the issue) but what is relevant is what the lawyers say.
To say that "they [EU member countries] don’t have the ability or talent to design and manufacture anything people, including those in EU countries, want" is just ridiculous and verifiably so. So, nobody wants cars from BMW, Ferrari, or Mercedes? Nobody wants British HiFi or ARM's tech? Not even in Europe? Are you seriously suggesting that?
Boycotting everything made in the EU? So no more French cheese or Champagne? No Italian clothing or wine? No Belgian chocolates? No IKEA or Lego? No Airbus? You seem to be using the same playbook as Trump! Hilariously, given his "Made in the USA" obsession, none of the merch in his Trump shop is made in the USA - most is from his evil enemy, China. You can't make up this kind of blinkered economic foolishness.
This comment was fine until the end. There was no need to make this comment at the end, which just makes the few Trump supporters here angry. I'm leaving this comment up because it is on topic for the most part, but I've removed the responses that focus on the merch comment and not on the actual topic at hand.
The reality: Trump merch sold on his website is likely made in America, which is also why it costs $50 for a hat. However, the merch sold at rallies and in physical Trump stores and booths are not from the official website (generally). Those products are made in China and cost a fifth as much, which sells much better at mass gatherings like rallies.
There's no reason to use this as some kind of jab. There's way more important topics around this administration beyond where its headwear is sourced. Stay on topic please.
Ford F150 trucks are an American thing not popular in Europe, so what, there has always been vehicles popular in Europe and Japan because of the road conditions what’s wrong with that? So if there is a fork in the road and iPhone’s in the EU countries are different so what, it was nice while it lasted, but it looks like there will be several different types of regional Apple devices cross the world due to Government interference.
Where I have a problem with the EU is they threatened Apple for not bringing Apple Intelligence to Europe. If Apple chooses not to bring it or other features to Europe that’s their decision.
The best Apple devices being sold in the USA, Canada, Mexico,, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, some parts of the Middle East, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, UK, China.
Like tariffs, the rest of the world will move on even if the EU doesn’t but with some of the countries in the EU having high totals of Apple devices, I don’t think Apple will be going away, but I think a Fork will be stuck in regional devices.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/iphone-market-share-by-country Some surprising countries are over 30% and some are over 40% noticed the lower end of Southeast almost all of the countries are over 30% and there are many other countries in Central and South America that are surprising in their penetration of iPhones, maybe the 16E iPhone, smaller iPads and Mini computer are not a bad thing for Apple worldwide over the long-term.
What is interesting is that there are some countries that are over 30% penetration that you wouldn’t necessarily believe that Apple would have such a high number in that country, but whether the EU is in or out long-term I think Apple will be fine because of the multiple devices and multiple ecosystems.
Apple owns its products not the EU. The EU has no right to dictate to Apple how its products operate. As I’ve said before, the EU has every right to build their own platforms but it’s obvious they don’t have the ability or talent to design and manufacture anything people, including those in EU countries, want. It’s time to boycott everything made in the EU but I’m not so sure there’s actually anything they make I really want.
The EU has every right to level playing fields and counter consumer harm and the stifling of innovation.
That has long been the case.
In the 'digital' world, the same ideas are applicable but new laws were needed specifically for the kind of cases explained here.
Do you remember the world pre-pdf?
Interoperability is key to the points mentioned above and for progress.
Mechanisms will have to be created and perfected but technology has the tendency to outpace legislation so these situations will persist until things get settled.
This isn't an Apple thing.
It's a EU thing! ICT carriers were forced to open up their technologies years ago and share their resources to a degree.
This isn't like the US where for as long as I can remember (and for all I know, may still be the case) your place of residence was a limiting factor to which carriers you could choose from.
I can opt for a virtual carrier which will use the infrastructure of one of the bigger players. That allows for competition to exist.
Left to its own devices, Apple does not allow for competition to exist. We know this and this is precisely why it is being forced to open up in certain areas (and not only the EU).
Of course, Apple is free to pull out of the EU. So is Google and Meta et al. Will they? Nope because, as you seem unwilling to contemplate, any pull-out would be met with very swift movements to fill any gaps.
You personally, may well be able to get by without EU products, but what would Apple's current supply chain do without ASML?
The EU is pretty big right? Right. So why don't they just develop their own phone? Problem solved and this way Spotify can stop whining all the time too. They already have the chip company ARM (who Apple licenses technology from). It seem all they do is try and sipher money from U.S companies or lessen the security on iOS or Android.
I like Tim Cook but this is where Steve Jobs would kindly tell the E.U to f*ck off. He wouldn't be scared to pull Apple products from the E.U including the many stores that provide thousands if not tens of thousands of jobs in the E.U.
If Apple stopped selling iOS products the E.U how pissed do you think the consumers would be?
I see a lot of apologists for malum prohibitum and disregard for property rights.
For simply having the audacity to point it out, I won’t be at all surprised to find this post downvoted by those condoning initiation of force by the proxy of the state; however, that doesn’t the inherent immorality of malum prohibitum regulation, nor the willingness to demand the nationalization of privately researched & developed technology, and the exposure of customers’ private information.
It doesn’t matter which legislative body, on which continent, is disregarding property rights. It’s wrong, whether you can understand it or not.
Apple owns its products not the EU. The EU has no right to dictate to Apple how its products operate. As I’ve said before, the EU has every right to build their own platforms but it’s obvious they don’t have the ability or talent to design and manufacture anything people, including those in EU countries, want. It’s time to boycott everything made in the EU but I’m not so sure there’s actually anything they make I really want.
The EU has every right to level playing fields and counter consumer harm and the stifling of innovation.
That has long been the case.
In the 'digital' world, the same ideas are applicable but new laws were needed specifically for the kind of cases explained here.
Do you remember the world pre-pdf?
Interoperability is key to the points mentioned above and for progress.
Mechanisms will have to be created and perfected but technology has the tendency to outpace legislation so these situations will persist until things get settled.
This isn't an Apple thing.
It's a EU thing! ICT carriers were forced to open up their technologies years ago and share their resources to a degree.
This isn't like the US where for as long as I can remember (and for all I know, may still be the case) your place of residence was a limiting factor to which carriers you could choose from.
I can opt for a virtual carrier which will use the infrastructure of one of the bigger players. That allows for competition to exist.
Left to its own devices, Apple does not allow for competition to exist. We know this and this is precisely why it is being forced to open up in certain areas (and not only the EU).
Of course, Apple is free to pull out of the EU. So is Google and Meta et al. Will they? Nope because, as you seem unwilling to contemplate, any pull-out would be met with very swift movements to fill any gaps.
You personally, may well be able to get by without EU products, but what would Apple's current supply chain do without ASML?
1. PDF sucks. Yes, I remember the world pre-PDF. We had text files. Which didn't suck. And which weren't proprietary. 2. "Interoperability" already exists and doesn't require letting Meta steal Apple users' private data. That's not going to happen, btw. Apple will pull out of the EU before letting it dictate user privacy rules to it. 3. "Apple does not allow for competition to exist" is vague mealy-mouthed idiocy. There's plenty of competition. 4. Without ASML? Make my day. Please. That's laughable. ASML isn't going to stop selling its stuff. Don't make stupid empty threats that you can't back up. I also note that you're forced to use TWO qualifiers here rather than talking directly about Apple. 5. The EU's overreach here is as shocking as its lack of cluefulness.
'Text' files absolutely did suck. If they didn't, and proprietary formats hadn't been used as yet another lock-in mechanism, pdf (even with its issues) would never have been a success.
'interoperability' clearly has not existed, and once again, 'proprietary' systems were used to lock users in. iMessage is a classic example with court documents revealing Apple's internal communication on the matter.
Apple has not allowed competition to exist. It has not ever communicated the limitations it imposes on users to those same users. It did not allow third parties to use their own wallet systems. It did not allow alternative App Stores. It actively prohibited developers from steering users to alternative payment systems. It deliberately withheld access to iPhone NFC options to many institutions. Where have you been? It did not allow browsers to use anything except WebKit. There are court cases open across the world (including the US) tackling this very issue.
ASML? We aren't talking about who it will sell or won't sell to. The point was what would happen to Apple's supply chain without ASML technology. The irony is that Trump is actually deciding who ASML can't sell to. Extraterritorial overreach of the highest order.
I take it you don’t recall the 1.0 version of Adobe’s PDF products that sold horribly. Its competitors which gave the reader away for free were crushing it. I know as I worked at a company selling such software and PDF did not begin to get traction until Adobe made the reader freeware starting with version 2.
Disturbing how arrogant EU have become while also increasingly subject to foreign corporate influences like Meta. US government are also badly overstepping the mark under Trump and ruining their international relationships. Considering the US, UK and European countries have a vested interest in remaining competitive against Asia, you’d assume there would be a degree of collaboration but sadly they all appear to be led by the same old thick AF rich white boomers. One of the main reasons we all stick with Apple is the interoperability of their devices and relatively good data security. It has nothing to do with the country of origin - if Nokia or Motorola were competitive I’d just as easily have gone that way (eg I still prefer Garmin over Apple Watches) but the last time these and other EU tech firms were relevant was nearly 20 years ago…
Comments
The US is claiming the right to prevent ASML from going about its normal business on the grounds that part of its IP is 'US origin' and including in that claim, the idea that even if ASML bought a US company 100% it's IP is still US origin and the US has worldwide rights over its use.
ASML is not happy. Its former and current CEO have made that clear.
The EU is not attempting anything similar. It is requiring interoperability in certain fields and only within its borders.
When I mentioned the situation with carriers, they were sharing their equipment functionality and basing it on standards. The standards that make interoperability possible in the first place.
That is happening across the EU with all its interoperability requirements. This year, for example, all bank transfers have to be 'instant'. The fintech sector had to work together to make it happen. The banking sector has gone through a lot of interoperability requirements and is far more critical than probably many other sectors.
Apple doesn't make its IP available for others to take. It makes it available for others to use and it does so by providing APIs to gain access to that IP.
The problem, and it's been going on for years, is that things like messaging have been used for lock in.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-confirms-imessage-locks-users-into-ios-and-putting-it-on-android-would-hurt-apple/
That is what the EU (and the DoJ) wants to change. The things that companies like Apple et al actively use to limit user choice, stifle innovation and limit competition.
And the EU is specifically targeting gatekeepers. Those with the power to implement those harmful decisions.
'interoperability' clearly has not existed, and once again, 'proprietary' systems were used to lock users in. iMessage is a classic example with court documents revealing Apple's internal communication on the matter.
Apple has not allowed competition to exist. It has not ever communicated the limitations it imposes on users to those same users. It did not allow third parties to use their own wallet systems. It did not allow alternative App Stores. It actively prohibited developers from steering users to alternative payment systems. It deliberately withheld access to iPhone NFC options to many institutions. Where have you been? It did not allow browsers to use anything except WebKit. There are court cases open across the world (including the US) tackling this very issue.
ASML? We aren't talking about who it will sell or won't sell to. The point was what would happen to Apple's supply chain without ASML technology. The irony is that Trump is actually deciding who ASML can't sell to. Extraterritorial overreach of the highest order.
The vast majority of consumers - Europeans included - just want a well made and secure smartphone. We buy iPhones because of their quality construction and privacy/security differentiators and with knowledge of its "walled garden." Apple has <25% market share in Europe, so it's nowhere near the dominant (or monopolist) OS or hardware manufacturer. I don't see a lot of European consumers screaming for change, and there are plenty of Android-based options here, more so than in the US. What exactly is the EU trying to protect its citizens from here? How are European consumers being actively harmed by Apple?
It would seem that the EU would be better off creating the economic and regulatory conditions that would encourage and allow European companies to develop their own OSes, hardware, etc. While that will take time, simply targeting Apple isn't going to accomplish that. Apple has enough problems dealing with Trump in its primary market, so it will probably just result in the loss of features and functionality for European consumers.
Something that has been around for years.
The reason is clear. That is an interoperable direct file transfer method but is not in the interest of Apple's lock in mentality.
ASML is perfectly capable of selling without approval from the U.S. government.
Are you just referring to the United States putting political pressure on the Dutch government to stop sales of ASML machines to Chinese customers?
But, the main thing is for Apple to continue to make it entirely clear that it is the EU government that is standing in the way of progress for EU citizens, and that it's up to EU citizens to change that.
How US car manufacturers and Apple won the EU through subpar products
Could I get a signed copy?
Where I have a problem with the EU is they threatened Apple for not bringing Apple Intelligence to Europe. If Apple chooses not to bring it or other features to Europe that’s their decision.
The best Apple devices being sold in the USA, Canada, Mexico,, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, some parts of the Middle East, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, UK, China.
Like tariffs, the rest of the world will move on even if the EU doesn’t but with some of the countries in the EU having high totals of Apple devices, I don’t think Apple will be going away, but I think a Fork will be stuck in regional devices.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/iphone-market-share-by-country Some surprising countries are over 30% and some are over 40% noticed the lower end of Southeast almost all of the countries are over 30% and there are many other countries in Central and South America that are surprising in their penetration of iPhones, maybe the 16E iPhone, smaller iPads and Mini computer are not a bad thing for Apple worldwide over the long-term.
What is interesting is that there are some countries that are over 30% penetration that you wouldn’t necessarily believe that Apple would have such a high number in that country, but whether the EU is in or out long-term I think Apple will be fine because of the multiple devices and multiple ecosystems.
I like Tim Cook but this is where Steve Jobs would kindly tell the E.U to f*ck off. He wouldn't be scared to pull Apple products from the E.U including the many stores that provide thousands if not tens of thousands of jobs in the E.U.
If Apple stopped selling iOS products the E.U how pissed do you think the consumers would be?