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by ThatPlayer
2097 days ago
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Yes, iOS is a product in a larger market, but I'm talking about the Apple App Store itself, not iOS. The EU has already ruled "Android App Stores" is a market which Google is dominate in for example: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_18_... >The Commission decision concludes that Google is dominant in the markets for [...] app stores for the Android mobile operating system. It's not a stretch to say iOS apps are another market |
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> In particular, Google:
> - has required manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search app and browser app (Chrome), as a condition for licensing Google's app store (the Play Store);
> - made payments to certain large manufacturers and mobile network operators on condition that they exclusively pre-installed the Google Search app on their devices; and
> - has prevented manufacturers wishing to pre-install Google apps from selling even a single smart mobile device running on alternative versions of Android that were not approved by Google (so-called "Android forks").
None of this describes anything Apple does. I don't think this ruling means what you think it means. It's talking about the _combination_ of search engine, licensing the OS to hardware vendors, _and_ the Google app store. None of those on their own led to this ruling.
It's all about how Google controls the licensing of Android, by controlling hardware vendor's licensing of other flavors of Android. (edit to add: and how this all feeds back into their search engine dominance. That is another point the linked document repeats on multiple occasions.)
> As a licensable operating system, Android is different from operating systems exclusively used by vertically integrated developers (like Apple iOS or Blackberry). Those are not part of the same market because they are not available for licence by third party device manufacturers.