[threeseed]

This comment is all over the place.

So now it's gone from Apple being a monopoly to it actually being a duopoly that is impossible for third parties to compete in.

Even though there are plenty of app manufacturers with their own stores e.g. Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei etc.

[horsawlarway]

Samsung and Xiaomi don't offer stores as distribution channels to 3rd parties. They offer an app on both Google and Apple's app stores to facilitate installing their own software.

I'm not as familiar with Huawei, so I'll go look. But basically - I don't find this a compelling counterpoint. They have a helper app to install their own content, still regulated by Apple and Google's distribution channel - That does not an app store make.

And yes - My stance since the beginning has been that both Apple and Google are actively working to keep the status quo around software distribution and app monetization.

Further, they both pretty clearly have divided the content space.

Google - Focused on free apps as a channel to push ads, with less care on quality

Apple - Focused on higher quality apps with a higher price tag.

They've managed to capture an incredibly large market (70 billion in 2018) of which they simply get to suck 30% with no chance of competition.

They also happen to charge exactly the same rate for their services (30%) which I'm sure you'll also take as a clear sign they aren't cooperating in this market...