Apple faces a new antitrust bill, banned from pre-installing its apps on the iPhone

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If consumers buy an iPhone, they will find dozens of Apple apps are pre-installed on it. Most of these applications are basic functions that are used daily, and the remaining applications include functions that may be used such as FaceTime, books, music, and iTunes Store.

According to Bloomberg, some members of the United States House of Representatives are currently proposing a bill. Once passed, it will change the current practice of pre-installing apps on smartphones. Many people have long believed that Apple has inherent advantages over other third-party applications that use the iOS platform. For example, the iPhone has Safari and Mail pre-installed. Under normal circumstances, users will no longer have the motivation to install other competing apps.
iPhone 11 549 dollars

“Papercraft iPhone 11” by It’s Charlie is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The problem that Apple faces is similar to that of Microsoft’s blows by the US Department of Justice in the past two decades. At that time, it continuously fought against the Windows system’s bundling of IE browsers. In fact, the influence of Apple’s pre-installed various applications now far exceeds the control of Microsoft’s dream in the late 1990s. Earlier, Spotify accused Apple of using its dominant market position to favor its products and services, causing unfair competition.

For ordinary consumers, if the bill is passed, it is likely to affect the experience, because the product unpacking process will become complicated. In addition to facing a series of cumbersome settings, you have to choose from a large number of applications and wait for installation.

Of course, Apple will not wait and die. With its huge interest chain and sufficient cash reserves, it has enough power to lobby. It is understood that there are currently several bills circulating, targeting technology giants such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google, with a target scope of companies with at least 50 million users and a market value of more than $600 billion.

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