• Lung@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Well, not really, because you could use android, and it commands 70% of the global market share

    Also, the way the law is, you have to have both a monopoly & also be causing substantial harm to the public. I.e. you can have a monopoly if it’s really nice and more like a public utility. So after the Microsoft antitrust case (for basically same thing), it’s been very hard to justify breaking up tech companies or banks

    If a company acquires its monopoly by using business acumen, innovation and superior products, it is regarded to be legal; if a firm achieves monopoly through predatory or exclusionary acts, then it leads to anti-trust concern

    For example, business can defense that its business conducts bring merits for consumers

    (Wikipedia)

    What happened with Microsoft browser tie ins antitrust?

    Ultimately, the Circuit Court overturned Jackson’s holding that Microsoft should be broken up as an illegal monopoly. However, the Circuit Court did not overturn Jackson’s findings of fact, and held that traditional antitrust analysis was not equipped to consider software-related practices like browser tie-ins

    So in short, Apple’s legal / business strategy here is totally solid. Arguably helps users, defended by precedent, and doesn’t dominate market share. Of course they have to debate all this

    • Isoprenoid@programming.dev
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      11 months ago

      if a firm achieves monopoly through predatory or exclusionary acts, then it leads to anti-trust concern

      Hey, ChatGPT …?

      Closed Ecosystem: Apple is known for its closed ecosystem, which can limit users’ choices. For instance, iOS users can only download apps from the App Store, and Apple tightly controls the app approval process.

      Proprietary Connectors: Apple often uses proprietary connectors and cables, such as the Lightning port, which can be inconvenient for users who want more universal standards like USB-C.

      Repairability Issues: Apple products are often criticized for being difficult to repair. For example, the company discourages third-party repairs and designs its products with components that are challenging to replace.

      • fulg@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        To be fair, USB-C didn’t exist when Lightning was introduced, and it was vastly superior to Micro-USB.

        It doesn’t really have any reason to exist now…

        Agreed with your other points though!

        I have an old iPad that I try to reuse for another purpose and all the locks to stop me to keep using it make it such a pain in the butt, when the alternative is simply to enable developer mode on an Android tablet.

        Thankfully I remembered when buying a laptop and skipped the very enticing M-series hardware, because in 5-7 years that thing is a brick destined for the landfill.

        • Isoprenoid@programming.dev
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          11 months ago

          To be fair, USB-C didn’t exist when Lightning was introduced

          Hmm, I wonder why that was?

          Lightning is a proprietary computer bus and power connector, created and designed by Apple Inc. It was introduced on September 12, 2012

          Design for the USB-C connector was initially developed in 2012 by Apple Inc. and Intel.

          So Apple helped develop USB-C but failed to integrate it into their products for a decade. Now, why would they do that?

          Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_(connector)

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB-C

          • BURN@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Because it’s not a superior connector. Lightning is better as a purely charging port. It’s less fragile and doesn’t have a million competing implementations. One of the most frustrating things about USB-C is you can’t be sure if a cable is actually going to work.

          • wikibot@lemmy.worldB
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            11 months ago

            Here’s the summary for the wikipedia article you mentioned in your comment:

            Lightning is a proprietary computer bus and power connector, created and designed by Apple Inc. It was introduced on September 12, 2012, in conjunction with the iPhone 5, to replace its predecessor, the 30-pin dock connector. The Lightning connector is used to connect Apple mobile devices like iPhones, iPads, and iPods to host computers, external monitors, cameras, USB battery chargers, and other peripherals. Using 8 pins instead of 30, Lightning is much smaller than its predecessor. The Lightning connector is reversible.

            to opt out, pm me ‘optout’. article | about

        • Ahoy@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Tbh I would have preferred lighting to become the universal standard. It feels better and makes more sense.

          Edit since people can’t think: obviously, I mean, if it would be updated to modern speeds

            • Ahoy@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              Oh god, obviously, if it would have been updated to modern speeds, i thought that’s obvious, but i guess people hate apple too much to think for half a second

              • TauriWarrior@aussie.zone
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                11 months ago

                Obviously it would be updated? Why would it be obvious when Apple hasn’t updated it at all, it was introduced in the Iphone 5 where it had USB 2 speeds, the Iphone 14 also has lightning connection and has… USB 2 speeds.

                10 years and no update. Seems more like you liking Apple to mucb to think rather then us hating them too much.

                • Ahoy@lemmy.world
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                  11 months ago

                  if it would have been updated

                  IF it would have been updated, i never said it would have been updated

              • WallEx@feddit.de
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                11 months ago

                Ah right, obviously you would change the core specs, how stupid of me

            • Ahoy@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              Are you telling me that an 11 year old connector doesn’t hold up to midern standards? Obviously, i meant if it also would get updates, there are also USB-C cabels that are technically inferior to modern cables.

              • sir_reginald@lemmy.world
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                11 months ago

                So basically you would want every device to use a nonexistent updated lightning just because “it feels better”? Are you aware that lightning is a proprietary connector?

                Additionally, USB-C debuted only two years later than lightning, so age is no excuse here.

                • Ahoy@lemmy.world
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                  11 months ago

                  Additionally, USB-C debuted only two years later than lightning, so age is no excuse here.

                  but then please also compare 2014 USB-C to Lightning and not 2024 USB-C > youre also not comparing Mini-B (from 1998 with USB 1.1) to USB-A (from 2017 with USB 3.2) you have to stay in the same time period if you wanna make a fair comparison since I am talking about it connector itself.

                  just because “it feels better”?

                  yes, it fells better because it has way tighter tolerances > USB-C can be everything from the nicest feeling connector if you’re lucky and get the perfect cable+connector to the wabblyest mess that barely holds the cable if you’re unlucky. And it only gets worse over time because the connection of USB-C is purely based on friction (which wears out over time) and lightning uses friction + it “snaps into place” with its grooves on the sides. Another thing I’ve noticed (since I carry around both my private Android phone (with USB-C) and an iPhone for work) is that the lint build up on USB-C is way higher then on lightning and cleaning it is a bit more annoying because of its “weird” choice of design that both the connector and the cable are both male and female (obviously only a problem on phones or other devices you carry around with you)

                  Are you aware that lightning is a proprietary connector?

                  yes, but that doesn’t mean that I cant believe that its the superior connector (not used USB standard), to give you another example: I believe that Apples HomeKit is currently the best Smart Home standard for an average person (Matter is in theory better but it was more of a paper launch so we will see how many companies actually support it) simply because all devices are required to work without a server or internet connection and before anyone says anything, yes Home Assistant is also great but can require a lot of tinkering + some kind of server (like a raspberry pi) so I would more put it in a enthusiast grade tier and not average consumer.

                  So basically you would want every device to use a nonexistent updated lightning

                  actually no, the “one connector for everything” dream is great and I would love it to be true but we are at a point (and I don’t see it becoming any better in the future) where yes we have one connector for most things but the cables are such a hot mess where you have no idea if the cable can actually do what you want it to do because USB-C can be everything from USB 2.0 to USB4 v2.0 (without the need to comply with everything that is in the spec), Thunderbolt 4 or even a power only cable without any easy way to differentiate them.