this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2024
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The US Department of Justice and 16 state and district attorneys general accused Apple of operating an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market in a new antitrust lawsuit. The DOJ and states are accusing Apple of driving up prices for consumers and developers at the expense of making users more reliant on its iPhones.

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[–] UristMcHolland 248 points 8 months ago (49 children)

I don't hate Apple but I do hate their influence. They release some wireless earbuds and then suddenly all the manufacturers "don't have enough room for a headphone jack", ...get the fuck out of here.

[–] [email protected] 102 points 8 months ago (1 children)

i'm still angry about their initiatives on delicate phone bodies and non-removable batteries.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 8 months ago (2 children)

And "no physical keyboards"

[–] [email protected] 21 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Ehh, that's ok. Slide out keyboards aside, having an on-display keyboard is a better idea by and large.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (6 children)

A keyboard without tactile feedback is objectively worse than a keyboard with tactile feedback, excluding other factors.

I've never had a physical keyboard lag out then send an entirely different keystroke because it thought I held a button, or send a single keystroke because I was typing too quickly.

I've never had to wait a moment for a physical keyboard to show up after selecting a text box.

I've never had the entire layout of a page shift to make room for a physical keyboard whenever I select or deselect a text box.

I've never had a physical keyboard prevent me from using the number pad and force me to use the full keyboard (or worse, vice versa) because of an improperly configured input box.

The way I see it there are exactly two real benefits to integrating a software keyboard into a touchscreen: reduced physical complexity (the entire device is essentially just one screen), and easier access to emoji. A touchscreen keyboard performs far worse as a keyboard. It's a valid trade-off for a small mobile device, but it's not objectively better.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 8 months ago

Their propaganda you mean.

[–] Ultraviolet 18 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Deliberately degrading picture quality when the metadata says it's from a competitor to push the narrative that they have the best cameras is also pretty low. Points for the sheer audacity, though.

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[–] [email protected] 157 points 8 months ago (9 children)

It would take a big dose of hopium to believe this will amount to anything.

[–] madeinthebackseat 70 points 8 months ago (15 children)

The anti-trust pressure has increased with this administration. Lina Kahn has been effective at the FTC in bringing a number of cases forward.

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/ is a very well executed newsletter with more detailed information regarding anti-trust if you're interested.

[–] deweydecibel 31 points 8 months ago (5 children)

I'm willing to take the movement as a good sign. The fact that we haven't even been talking about this shit for decades now was just depressing. It's long past time for this shit, and the ball needs to get rolling.

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[–] [email protected] 138 points 8 months ago (2 children)

*Sees EU fining Apple*

Oh shit we can tell corporations what to do!

[–] generalpotato 33 points 8 months ago (3 children)

This. Smells like me too (the expression, not the movement) as opposed to a well thought out plan as to how they’ll tackle the monopoly.

[–] [email protected] 52 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Biden appointed a bunch of pretty vehemently anti-monopoly people to power, this is just how long it actually takes them to conduct an investigation thorough enough to bring suit.

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[–] deweydecibel 138 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (4 children)

Be prepared for a lot of hand-wringing about "security".

Apple, Microsoft, and Google all learned in the last couple years "security" shuts down any arguments, and they use it at every turn to justify whatever they want, regardless of the actual dangers or alternative mitigation methods they could take.

If our modern software security means anti-competitive behavior and user lock-in tactics are OK, then that's a problem with our security practices, and we need to reevaluate some things.

[–] [email protected] 74 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If they utter "security for children" the government will probably not only drop the lawsuit but pay Apple $20 billion.

[–] affiliate 31 points 8 months ago (2 children)

they could get an extra 50 billion if they say “security for children, against terrorists”

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[–] flop_leash_973 77 points 8 months ago (1 children)

With Apple tipping over the ~50% market share in the US and with the current rulings in the EU, maybe the US DOJ smell blood in the water. Hopefully something unusually good for the consumer will come of this, but I won't be shocked if it doesn't.

[–] miridius 24 points 8 months ago (11 children)

I only recently found out about iPhones having 50% market share in the US and that's insane to me. I think anyone who's used both Android and iPhones a lot knows that iPhones are both a worse product and worse value for money, so in a fair market they would be the minority

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[–] [email protected] 48 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

What? Unbelievable. I'm shocked. Shocked, I say. This really comes as a surprise. I would've never expected this. No one would have seen this coming. This is really outrageous. They are innocent. I can't comprehend this. No way! It's not acceptable! /i

– Apple Fan, probably (without the irony flag then)

[–] cmbabul 32 points 8 months ago

I mean I’m an Apple user, although not exclusively, and I am very surprised, not because Apple doesn’t deserve it, they absolutely need to be reigned in like all big tech companies. I’m surprised as hell that the US government in 2024 is attempting to crack down an extremely profitable business. You love to see it

[–] Brkdncr 48 points 8 months ago (6 children)

lol this is going to go nowhere

[–] ANIMATEK 58 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I don’t think so. EU did push through with reform, the US will join sooner or later.

[–] [email protected] 50 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

The EU passed a massive, sweeping law. This is a federal lawsuit in front of an infamously conservative and pro-business Supreme Court.

Little will come of this.

[–] Telodzrum 30 points 8 months ago (29 children)

SCOTUS rarely (like ultra rare) gets involved in technical economic cases -- they don't have the expertise and single-issue cases which don't present a Constitutional question are beneath the Court. Cases like this go to judges who have experience in the details of antitrust actions and are well-versed in the economic and marketplace analysis required by the type of action the DOJ is bringing here.

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[–] Ghostalmedia 19 points 8 months ago

The EU passed new laws to address new needs. The US is trying to see if they can provide consumer protection with existing consumer protection laws from the past.

Passing consumer protection laws is pretty hard when people don’t vote enough democrats into the senate and house. The GOP hates consumer protection regulation.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 8 months ago

Kick their asses DOJ!

[–] Muzle84 39 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Apple did some sort of "tech innovations" through years, but its economical success has always been based on its locked down ecosystem.

Apple's marketing about its customers being part of an elite, hence zero compatibility with the 'mass', is disgusting imho.

Glad to hear it could be over, especially if it comes from US lawmakers.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] Noodle07 70 points 8 months ago (2 children)

We're contagious, and we're not sorry

[–] 0Xero0 45 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Good, don't sorry, bite more.

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[–] atrielienz 20 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Can you be more contagious? Virulently so? Pandemic level? I need some of that good EU user privacy law plague in my life.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Now we just need the US to force carriers to automatically unlock phones after they are paid off.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 8 months ago (7 children)

They do actually. What you're talking about is unlocking the bootloader.

I wanted to borrow a friend's [old] phone to try out graphene but he got it from Verizon and they keep the bootloaders locked so it was worthless.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

As soon as smartphones started becoming commonplace in like 2009 or so, I dropped Verizon because I wasn't going to pay $500 for a smartphone that couldn't have custom roms. Verizon can go fuck themselves.

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[–] NeoNachtwaechter 24 points 8 months ago (13 children)

We all know that these accusations are true.

So much so that I need to ask: is it really illegal to do all these things?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago

Smarter Americans in that past recognized that freedom, including the free market, doesn't just happen of its own accord, that it has to be defended, legislated. That is how antitrust laws came to be in arguably the most capitalist nation on earth.

Apathetic Americans now have lost sight of the importance of protecting their freedoms.

"Illegal" is not just some hypothetical moral absolute. It is the politics of defending one's values. Americans clearly no longer value either their freedoms or the free market.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago

If you enjoy a good laugh, then head over to hackernews to see the meltdown apple bros are having: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39778999

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