As the news magazine Bloomberg reports, the US government is currently debating the passage of a new antitrust law aimed at preventing tech companies such as Apple and Co.from giving themselves an unfair advantage on their platforms.
Disaster for Apple: no more pre-installed apps on the iPhone?
Specifically, this would mean in the event of adoption for Apple, no own apps such as FaceTime, iMessage, Safari and Co.to be able to pre-install on the iPhone. This would be an absolute nightmare for the manufacturer, as one would ultimately have to give space and space to alternative apps to grant equal opportunities. In practice, this could look like this: If Apple wants to make FaceTime available as a download on the iPhone directly, the customer would have to be given the option of choosing between alternative apps such as Zoom or Skype at the moment. Therefore, users must decide, and Apple itself will be forced to give up the “first installation” advantage.
Thoughts on this …
Our assessment: On the one hand, a limitation of market power is usually always in customers’ interests. On the other hand, the rigorous approach is also worthy of criticism. Apple’s apps are alternatives to other apps and are often an indispensable part of the overall experience. The apps reach deep into the system and are designed well thought out. Are thus also considered a prime technological example for other app developers. If this app is now pushed into the second row, this role model function is lost, which in turn would negatively affect app development itself. However, for Africa and Europe, the latest considerations in the USA do not yet play a role. As long as Apple is not forced otherwise in this country(Kenya), you will certainly not do without the pre-installation of the apps. However, market giants such as Apple are also under the observation of the European authorities, and similar market-restricting orders would be quite conceivable for the future.
