tundraboy

VictorMortimer said:

About time.  Apple has been illegally monopolizing app distribution on iDevices for well over a decade now.  It's time for the nonsense to stop.

I should be able to install any software of MY choosing on MY iPhone, without interference from Apple.

I really hope DoJ doesn't cave and settle.  Apple needs to allow normal software installation, without an app store.

You don't even know what the legal meaning of 'monopoly' is.  There is no law that makes it illegal for a company to have a monopoly on its OWN product.  BMW has a monopoly on BMW cars.  GE has a monopoly on GE appliances.  

What antitrust laws address are monopolies over industries or product categories.  Apple does not have a monopoly in the smart phone market.  In fact if you want to be allowed to install any software on your phone, get an Android.  No one's stopping you.  That's always how it's been to encourage competition (and product improvement) in non-monopolized industries.  If you don't like the features of one product, go to the competitor, not sue them to offer what you want.

If Apple is forced to allow your ridiculous demand, even though it's not a monopoly, then all the game consoles will be subject to the same ruling.  In fact not just game consoles but any device that allows some form of software installation by the customer.

Congress has to pass a law first that says own-brand monopolies are now illegal before this litigation succeeds.  And that would be one of the stupidest laws Congress would have tried to pass.  Every company in the land will oppose it.

A lot of developers, both legit and non-legit, must be disappointed.  They probably thought the EU forcing Apple to open up to side loading and 3rd party app stores means that iOS will turn into a free-for-all platform where any app can be installed and that Apple won't charge a commission anymore.  Unfortunately for them, the EU is not stupid enough to force Apple to abandon its focus on security and privacy or to impose price controls in the form of requiring commission-free app installation.

Devs dreaming of squatting on iOS for free have been living on Cloud Cuckoo Land.  Forbidding Apple to charge iOS app developers is like forcing malls to lease retail space for free.  Maintaining an app platform, just like maintaining a physical mall, is not a cost-free proposition.

It still amazes me that some people think 'open and competitive app market' means that any developer and any app can just squat on iPhone for free.

Treating a company that is NOT a monopolist as if they were.  There is no economic or legal theory that justifies this.  The only monopoly Apple has is the monopoly on Apple branded products.

If they go after Apple for this, they should go after the game console manufacturers as well:  No more exclusive game franchises for them, no more exclusive payment system.

I think for the most part Apple makes the best consumer tech products out there but one Apple product that I won't buy anymore after buying it once are the AirPods.  These are disposable products being sold at prices more appropriate for long-lived durables.  You are essentially paying $200 to rent AirPods for about 2 years.  When my AirPods Pro started crackling a little past a year and a half of use, and the Genius Bar said I'm better off buying a new pair, I felt like I got scammed by a two-bit Chinese counterfeiting outfit.  There are decent sounding bluetooth earbuds out there that last at least as long as AirPods but at prices as low as $35.  Yeah, they don't have the fancy spatial whatever and other such gimmickry, but in the end that's just what it is, gimmickry, and most users are not hardcore audio enthusiasts.