> Somehow google manages to have a store without fully locking your out of alternatives. Their position certainly makes it so they can and do behave as a monopsony in ways but certainly not to the same extent as apple.
You have to pay $40 to be able to launch your phone with GMS (Play store, Maps, other 1p Google apps not part of AOSP) and where until recently it looks like waiving that fee if you also preinstalled Chrome as the default browser. That's literally the bullshit Intel & Microsoft did that got them in trouble as monopolies. Google & Apple have pointed to each other as reasons neither is a monopoly so that their BS practices don't get them into trouble. The EU has been taking a harder stance than the US. In general I think we should be banning these kinds of practices once the company size exceeds some point (revenue, # of customers, something). It doesn't matter if you're a monopoly. You're throwing your weight with dominance in once area to artificially improve your reach in another (i.e. the customer isn't getting to make that choice).
Arguably they accomplish that by bundling (i.e. the problem that Microsoft in trouble with Explorer). https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/19/17999366/google-eu-andro...
You have to pay $40 to be able to launch your phone with GMS (Play store, Maps, other 1p Google apps not part of AOSP) and where until recently it looks like waiving that fee if you also preinstalled Chrome as the default browser. That's literally the bullshit Intel & Microsoft did that got them in trouble as monopolies. Google & Apple have pointed to each other as reasons neither is a monopoly so that their BS practices don't get them into trouble. The EU has been taking a harder stance than the US. In general I think we should be banning these kinds of practices once the company size exceeds some point (revenue, # of customers, something). It doesn't matter if you're a monopoly. You're throwing your weight with dominance in once area to artificially improve your reach in another (i.e. the customer isn't getting to make that choice).