I find it easy to explain that Apple is not using a mobile phone monopoly to X, for any X, by virtue of the fact that Apple does not have a mobile phone monopoly, not even close.
If I want Google ad tracking on my phone, I have a bewilderingly large selection of Android phones to choose from, all of which run on the same mobile networks as my iPhone, work with the same Internet, and all of the apps I consider part of my mobile workflow, like my PagerDuty and my banking app, are available on Android as well as iOS.
I’d say it’s hard to use the words “monopoly” and “Apple” in the same sentence. They don’t have a monopoly in phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, wearables, streaming music, data storage, messaging, calendars, productivity apps, or anything else that I can think of.
Yes, Apple is not a "monopoly" in a strict sense, but it has a very large captive audience and is definitely using that audience to serve its own needs. Getting Apple's tentacles out of your life can have significant side effects to your social life, as evidenced by the green bubble thread from the other day.
Monopolies abuse their power. Apple abuses its power. This doesn't make Apple a monopoly but it isn't any less of a problem.
I find it very easy to use "Apple" and "monopoly" in the same sentence.
Apple has been consistently making it harder to make money off iOS users without sharing that revenue with apple.
Furthermore, they don't allow side loading of apps, their own apps have special api's that their competitors can't use, etc.
Luckily for this discussion, the word 'monopoly' has an accepted definition, which is:
> The exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service
Since Apple has, at most, below 50% market share in developed countries (and a much lower market share in developing countries), they do not possess a monopoly on the smartphone market.
Although the definition the other user posted was too strong, it was mitigated by the observation that Apple is barely 50%.
If we compare Google's marketshare in end user email, video hosting and search, we can see Google is a lot stronger in many markets, than apple is in their best market.
(I wish I could use an iPhone, but having to use Mac OS for development is a real turn off, considering how sucky Mac OS, in my view, has ever been.)
If I want Google ad tracking on my phone, I have a bewilderingly large selection of Android phones to choose from, all of which run on the same mobile networks as my iPhone, work with the same Internet, and all of the apps I consider part of my mobile workflow, like my PagerDuty and my banking app, are available on Android as well as iOS.
I’d say it’s hard to use the words “monopoly” and “Apple” in the same sentence. They don’t have a monopoly in phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, wearables, streaming music, data storage, messaging, calendars, productivity apps, or anything else that I can think of.