> Users "throw away [their phone] and buy a different device" basically every 2 years
If the DOJ's accusations of lock-in are true, then it's kinda a moot point. Perhaps even more criminal on Apple's behalf.
> its impact on the web is at worst a wash, and at best good for maintaining diversity among web engines.
It is not. Apple deliberately ignored PWA functionality for a decade until regulators threatened them enough to add it. They have dragged their feet supporting actual third-party browser options[0] and undeniably harm user freedom in the browser market.
"at best", Apple is using an illegal double-standard to prevent Google Chrome from competing with their underpowered browser. It is a pathetic plea to avoid competition, which is inexcusable no matter how powerful Google is. Realizing user harms to prevent a theoretical problem is not an excusable pattern of behavior - the DOJ and EU are absolutely correct in their judgement. They'll likely be right when they implicate Google too - but that's a different discussion, and entirely different harmful business strategy.
If the DOJ's accusations of lock-in are true, then it's kinda a moot point. Perhaps even more criminal on Apple's behalf.
> its impact on the web is at worst a wash, and at best good for maintaining diversity among web engines.
It is not. Apple deliberately ignored PWA functionality for a decade until regulators threatened them enough to add it. They have dragged their feet supporting actual third-party browser options[0] and undeniably harm user freedom in the browser market.
"at best", Apple is using an illegal double-standard to prevent Google Chrome from competing with their underpowered browser. It is a pathetic plea to avoid competition, which is inexcusable no matter how powerful Google is. Realizing user harms to prevent a theoretical problem is not an excusable pattern of behavior - the DOJ and EU are absolutely correct in their judgement. They'll likely be right when they implicate Google too - but that's a different discussion, and entirely different harmful business strategy.
[0] https://mozilla.github.io/platform-tilt/