In her latest quest to break up big tech, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is targeting Apple.
In a video posted to X, Warren highlighted how the iPhone maker’s use of green text messages “ruins relationships.”
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“Green texts on iPhones ruin relationships. That’s right, all over the world, non-iPhone users are excluded from group texts, from sports team chats to birthday chats to discussions about vacation plans. They are excluded, miss plans and conversations. And who is to blame here? Apple”, she said.
Warren is referring to the fact that when iPhone users text each other, they use Apple’s iMessage system, which displays messages in blue bubbles. However, texts from devices other than iPhone appear in green bubbles.
She said the practice is just one of the “dirty tactics” the Cupertino-based tech company is employing to “keep a stranglehold on the smartphone market.”
Monopoly on smartphones?
Warren’s criticism of Apple goes beyond the issue of green text bubbles. She also highlighted the company’s role in the smartphone industry.
“Apple used its smartphone monopoly to lock Americans into services and amass billions of dollars in profits,” she said.
Apple indeed occupies an important position in the American smartphone market, but perhaps not really a monopoly. According to CounterPoint Research, Apple captured 62% of the U.S. smartphone shipment market share in Q4 2023.
Globally, Apple’s market dominance is less. CounterPoint Research reports that during the same quarter, Apple secured a 23% share of the global smartphone market.
Nonetheless, Apple runs a lucrative business. In the fiscal quarter ended December 30, 2023, the company reported net income of $33.9 billion.
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“It’s time to break up”
Warren’s criticism of Apple continued by stating: “Apple even takes a cut every time you use Tap to Pay and blocked a new app that would have allowed Android users to use finally iMessage and get those blue texts.”
The app Warren referenced, Beeper, allowed Android users to message iPhone users via iMessage, until Apple apparently shut it down.
In light of these concerns, Warren emphasized the need for action, stating: “It’s time to break Apple’s monopoly now.” »
Last month, the US Department of Justice sued Apple for its “widespread exclusionary conduct.”
“Apple is undermining apps, products and services that would otherwise make users less dependent on iPhone, promote interoperability and reduce costs for consumers and developers. Apple is exercising its monopoly power to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, among others,” the Justice Department said in a statement. Press.
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