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Comment by jeremydeanlakey | Hacker News Reader

Your argument relies on combining the markets for iOS and Android apps into a single market. These are separate markets because you can't put an Android app on iPhone or an iOS app on Android.

If iOS had 100% share, you probably wouldn't say it doesn't have a monopoly on apps because you can just use desktop apps instead.

I also wouldn't say Comcast doesn't have a monopoly because they only have xx% share and you can move to a different state or country and get another provider. Or use your phone for internet instead.

> Ease of customer switching argument

This is confusing the consumer market for smartphones and the markets for distribution of smartphone app.

> Supply-Side Price elasticity argument

Yeah, if any monopoly's cut is too high, you can exit the market. This is not an argument that the monopoly is not a monopoly. This only means there is a limit to the monopoly's power.

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Defining markets is what competition law is all about. There will be enormous resources thrown at both sides of this argument. I think odds are in favor of Apple. They’ll will win on the basis that the market is mobile devices generally.

Thats like saying that the market for car parts for fords and chevrolets are separate market and monopolized by ford and chevrolet respectively.

It's bunkum and doesn't fit with 100 years of antitrust law.

If the products aren't interchangeable, then they are separate markets. Someone in the market for a part that fits a Ford can't solve their problem by buying the similar part that only fits a Chevy. Likewise, he can't but a new tire to replace a carburator. The tire and carburator are also in separate markets.

However, he can buy an aftermarket part. It's a different product but the same market. So they don't have a monopoly.

I don't know much about antitrust law so I can't comment on that But I do understand basic economics. And from an economic perspective, Apple most definitely created a monopoly which they most definitely use for rent seeking.

None of your comparisons are apt because desktops are not smartphones.

An android phone is just as portable and has all of the same features as an Apple phone. The only day to day difference is having access to the apple ecosystem.

It’s nothing but a minor inconvenience to switch between android and iOS. The same can’t be said for any of your other comparisons.

> It’s nothing but a minor inconvenience to switch between android and iOS.

Switching includes spending hundreds of dollars plus hours to setup and figure things out plus several days of frustrating adjustments.

You might call that a "minor inconvenience". It certainly is more minor than my examples above. But that absolutely is enough to separate the two app markets. Virtually nobody will switch systems for an app.

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