I hate Google as much as anybody else, but that Google has been ordered to open up when they already allow side loading, and Apple is apparently all good, is all you need to know this whole system is a joke.
It’s because Google is using their market dominance to essentially force OEMs to do what Google wants them to do.
You can’t have a successful Android device without the Play store, or access to any Google apps. Shit, for lots of apps, they will be straight up broken without Play Services installed, or notifications won’t work.
The market reality is that you have to have the play store. Google knows this, so they attach all kinds of extra requirements on OEMs to push Google services and tracking.
Apple doesn’t do this. Yes, Apple’s system is more locked down than Google’s (by far), but Apple is not using their market position to force anything on anybody or any OEM. Google is. Apple has not forced Samsung, OnePlus, Motorola, Sony, etc to do anything. They are only doing things of their own accord, on their own devices.
What Apple is doing is the same as what the games consoles do. You buy a Sony console, it has Sony software, Sony’s storefront, Sony-sanctioned games. It’s an ecosystem they’re putting on their own product, as opposed to Google strong-arming other companies into pushing Google’s ecosystem, because Google knows they have no realistic alternative. That’s why one is abuse of market dominance and the other isn’t.
This is the clearest and most sensible explanation of the situation, but I’m still not sure what’s meant by “opening the app store”. The reality is apps can be sideloaded and distributed freely on Android, even unrooted. Sure, Google requires OEMs to push Google services and tracking, and that’s evil and horrible and nasty, but do they actually force that onto app developers as well?
Perhaps they mean allowing android OEMs to ship with the play store without having to agree to all the other Google requirements.
Edit: Sorry! I misread your comment at first. Yeah, now that you say that, that makes the most sense.
But from the standpoint of anti-competitivity and Android vs iOS with Apple…
One’s behavior is denying access to their app store without agreeing to a set of device restrictions, but everything on the app store is available without the app store at developer discretion.
The other is an app store which MUST be installed, and is in fact the ONLY way to get software for the device.
One is CLEARLY more anti-competitive than the other, and yet the one that’s LESS problematic is the one that gets court action. It’s a joke.
Apple isn’t on third party hardware.
They aren’t controlling access to software on other manufacturers devices like Google is.
That’s not actually true though.
Android is open source and many devices, mostly Chinese products, launch with custom Android builds completely free of Google services. This is not a Google constraint - manufacturers CHOOSE to use Android builds that use Google’s services. Creating your own build simply stops you from integrating Google’s services into the OS, which is actually a PLUS if you ask me.
Even if they WERE requiring it, that would have nothing to do with end user store front installation, which is already something you can do, as shown by the 2 non-Google app stores I have installed on my phone.
Again… I’m not defending Google as some kind of good company here. I’m simply stating there is no way to make an anti-competitivity argument against Google in mobile that doesn’t apply at least as much to Apple. This is a nonsensical double-standard.
Because of their market dominance. That’s what antitrust laws are about.
The fact that it’s not just their own hardware completely changes the legal arguments in play.
Google has also made unwelcome moves recently indicating they might crack down on sodeloaded app stores. So I’m glad this ruling happened.
good. now do apple, microsoft, amazon, meta…
Do PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo next.
Does this mean Aurorastore will be useful again?
OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
