Apple, a company more comfortable unveiling the latest iPhone than navigating courtrooms, has had its bid to dismiss a major US antitrust lawsuit met with a polite but firm “no, thanks.”
A federal judge in New Jersey ruled there’s enough substance to the government’s claims to justify a full trial. The Department of Justice and 20 US states accuse Apple of holding on to its smartphone monopoly with the subtlety of a caffeinated auctioneer.
The focus is on Apple’s ironclad control over app developers, device compatibility, and other ecosystem quirks that leave consumers with all the freedom of choice found in a pre-set sandwich menu.
Currently, Apple dominates roughly 65% of the US smartphone market and an even larger slice of what’s politely called the “performance” segment — essentially phones that don’t fall apart after six months or mysteriously delete your photos.
The case takes aim at Apple’s approach to messaging apps, smartwatches, digital wallets, and cloud streaming. Internal documents suggest senior execs have been delightfully invested in making life difficult for anyone even considering a rival.
Apple, naturally, denies wrongdoing, insisting these policies exist solely to protect “user experience and security,” which roughly translates to “because we can.”
If the government prevails, Apple may be forced to tweak its business practices or, in the most dramatic scenario, see parts of itself broken up — though that’s as likely as an iPhone without a charging cable.
For now, Apple joins a growing club of tech giants who seem to spend more time in court than in product development meetings. Trial dates are yet to be confirmed, giving Apple plenty of time to practice their most convincing innocent faces.
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