[tpmoney]

Everything everyone says they want from Apple as far as openness and ability to install and run any software they want is available on numerous Android and non-Android devices. The ability to install one’s own OS is available on numerous devices that are not iPhones. The clear conclusion then must be that people don’t just want those things. They also want specifically iOS and specifically an iPhone. Otherwise they would buy any of the other options available to them.

[amelius]

There are too many reasons why this is wrong, so I am not going to list them all. But one is network effect. If friends own an iPhone, you are going to buy an iPhone too because then you can use Facetime, etc. Another is simply the fact that people don't know what they want, and they assume the vendor offers what is best for them. A third reason is that any phone has many cons and pros, so "best" is not well defined, and a regulator might as well try to regulate towards more pros and less cons.