Current Events > Biden administration sues Apple

(+) Yeah! (+)

Boomers gonna be mad

Sue Google next. Force smartphone companies to give us root access. It's fucking bollocks that you can't even own your own device.

Took down the Orange Man, now he's gunning for the Apple Man.

That actually sounds like it might be decent move. Do Sony next. They have no right to put those restrictions on their hardware.

How are they alleging a monopoly? Did Android just cease to exist or something?

How are they alleging a monopoly? Did Android just cease to exist or something?

The sprawling complaint, filed at a federal court in New Jersey, alleges that Apple used "a series of shapeshifting rules" in a bid to "thwart innovation" and "throttle" competitors.

It accuses the California-based company of stopping competitors from offering rival services on the iPhone while also making it difficult for users to switch to alternative operating systems.

In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the company "undermines apps, products and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone".

The complaint lists a number of "anti-competitive" steps allegedly taken by the company, including blocking apps, suppressing mobile cloud streaming services, limiting third-party digital wallets and "diminishing the functionality" of smartwatches not made by the company.

He pointed to the experience of iPhone users who message non-Apple smartphones, which he said led to "limited functionality" including non-encrypted communications and pixelated or grainy images.

"Apple creates barriers that make it extremely difficult and expensive for both users and developers to venture outside the Apple ecosystem," Mr Garland said.

How are they alleging a monopoly? Did Android just cease to exist or something?

There's two different kinds of monopolies. Most people are familiar with the Horizontal monopoly which is what you're describing. Monopolies can also be vertical. Sometimes called vertical integration.

Think of a product. In order for you get get this product, you have to go up a flight of stairs, and you can't skip any steps. Now every time you step on a stair, you have to pay the guy who owns the part you stepped on. In a competitive market, multiple people all own different chunks of the step and you have a lot of options on where to step. They'll compete for your foot by offering the lowest price or least nails jutting out or something. A horizontal monopoly is when one dude owns an entire step. You can't avoid paying that guy.

A vertical integration is when one dude owns a chunk of every single step, and you get incentives for stepping on all of them. A real world example of this is Andrew Carnegie. He made steel, so how do you get steel?

So first you need some iron. But to get iron you need to mine it, and then transport it. That could be 3 different companies, one to own the land, one to do the mining, and one to do the transport, but Carnegie owned all three of those himself.

Then you need to repeat that process with coal, once again Carnegie owned it all.

Then you need to process both of them in a foundry which he also owned to actually make the steel, and then you need to distribute it, which, surprise surprise he also did. With each of those steps along the way representing a chunk of staircase.

Thus even though he was not the sole provider of steel, he was in a position to sell steel at a low price and still have high margins, where a guy who only owned the steel foundries couldn't because he had to spend a ton of money contracting miners and shipping and such.

When it comes to apple it's the same way and their vertical integration has expanded ever since they opened up their own chip factories. They make the chips which go into the phones they make which get the software they wrote which can only make purchases through the store they have where they get a cut from everything.

You can't even update the firmware on Airpods without an Apple product (iphone, ipad, mac). It's fucking bullshit. I got the airpods, but I don't own any other apple device, so I'm stuck on the old firmware. It doesn't work as well while paired with an Android phone either. Some features don't work.

That is shitty, but why did you buy AirPods for an android phone?

Sue Google next. Force smartphone companies to give us root access. It's fucking bollocks that you can't even own your own device.

Sue Google next. Force smartphone companies to give us root access. It's fucking bollocks that you can't even own your own device.

Android for life

*typing this on my rooted Pixel 8 Pro*

Take that up with Samsung, OnePlus, etc.

I wish they would do this shit in Australia. It's bizarre they're being sued there but not here.

I work for a company that has an app. We sell the app directly to people via our website and also through Apple/Google. Apple have made us take down any and all links and messaging that even insinuate there's a subscription you can directly pay us for. We can no longer sell gift vouchers or tell people to sign up through our website through the entire world. Apple don't give vendors access to their systems. If you accidentally made a purchase, you're shit out of luck, call Apple so they can deny you the refund. Even massive, massive companies like Disney don't have access.

Google, on the other hand, allows us to do all of this. I can cancel the Google subscriptions of anyone on GameFAQs because Google give us unrestricted access to the Play console. I can refund. I can cancel. I can do anything you want.

Unless you're Apple. Because Apple says fuck you, that's why.

about this is that, in the US, you're more likely to actually get a refund from Apple than you are, say, Epic, which was part of the reason Epic tried to sue in the first place. They wanted to be able to rip people off with their microtransactions without Apple doing anything to prevent it. There are obviously problems to Apple's walled garden, but there were a few perks, too, in that you couldn't really get tricked into buying anything or have to fight to get a refund (Well, as long as you didn't abuse refunding through

I'm surprised Apple has been able to successfully pull this off in Australia. We can't get Steam Decks here because Gaben refuses to do business in Australia because he keeps getting sued. Sony have been sued. MS have been sued. But Apple? No no no no no. All must bow to Apple.

I assume Apple is abusing the lack of law/regulation in Australia, whereas here, even though they've also run rampant a little bit, they've had to fall in line a little bit and are... Actually the "good guy" in a few scenarios.

At the end of the day, they're obviously not the good guy. It's just interesting to see how things differ between countries. I'm actually kinda thankful for how Apple handles refunds here, because I know it'd be a pain and a half to get refunds if I had to do so through the individual companies, whereas with Apple, I just go to my purchase list, click refund, and they refund within like, 24 hours.

*typing this on my rooted Pixel 8 Pro*

Take that up with Samsung, OnePlus, etc.

The irony is that they're doing exactly what MS, Sony and Valve have been sued for here. It's bizarre. Probably some MPs in bed with Apple. I had to handle an escalation from a grandmother yesterday who is infuriated she isn't able to purchase it for her grandchildren anymore. She relied on gift vouchers. We just had to say 'sorry, see ya'