UK regulator says Apple and Google hold ‘vice-like’ grip on consumers

The UK competition regulator claimed on Tuesday that Apple and Google hold a “vice-like” grip over how people use smartphones, killing any meaningful choice in the market and potentially hiking costs.

Reuters:

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had provisionally found that the two groups were able to leverage their market power to create largely self-contained ecosystems.
“Apple and Google have developed a vice-like grip over how we use mobile phones and we’re concerned that it’s causing millions of people across the UK to lose out,” CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli said.
The CMA’s report set out a range of options, including making it easier for users to switch between Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android phones without losing functionality or data.
It is also looking at whether users could install apps through methods other than Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play Store.

MacDailyNews Take: There clearly is choice. You can buy a real iPhone or settle for a pretend iPhone from one of umpteen of Frangamdroid peddlers.
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