The Lawsuit

The US Department of Justice has sued Apple for monopolizing the US smartphone market. Apple dominates 70% of the smartphone market. The justice department claims that they did this not purely based on merit but with ethical malpractices which prohibit competition and reduce integration with other smartphones.

Apple Exclude Competition

The company is known for their isolated IOS ecosystem, but this is due to their refusal to host other services (such as streaming services messaging apps), which may compete with Apple’s equivalent service. This forces iPhone users to mostly pay for Apple services and disregard any alternatives, thereby reducing competition.

For example, the company has made it difficult for other digital wallet apps to incorporate into IOS, making Apple pay the sole payment method on the iPhone. The same goes for external streaming apps and messaging apps. Reducing the number of service alternatives on the iPhone also reduces integration with other smartphone companies who may primarily use this service in their phones.

An Android phone displays messages from Apple as green, unencrypted, and pixelated when sending videos. Messages are also not editable in this format. Apple users find it incredibly frustrating to integrate iPhones with other phones, leading many to view other phones as ‘lower quality’ compared to iphones.

The Department of Justice filed the suit on 21st March, along with 16 state and district attorneys aligned with the same disregard towards the company’s practices. If the DOJ wins the suit, many question what will happen to the company. US officials refuse to comment on this.

Apple shares fell around 3.5% after the announcement of this lawsuit. Investors have clearly begun to stomach the uncertain future of the company.

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