They have a clear monopoly in the high-end segment. "Intense competition" with Google has resulted in... few changes to app store cuts in 12+ years.
This idea that Apple has a monopoly is ridiculous.
You use Firefox on your desktop and you're upset at Apple because you need to use Firefox on your mobile in order for tabs etc to sync.
Are you also upset at Apple for needing to use Lightroom on your desktop and mobile for photos to sync ?
Would you actually want a computer to ship with nothing?
Also your other talking point about no “real adblockers” is at least a year out of date. Safari has supported standard extensions for over a year not just JSON based content blocking rules.
Had OEMs not be forced to pay for Windows licences for all computers shipped regardless of whether it actually included Windows or not perhaps they wouldn't have shipped Windows so damn much?
1. Microsoft was held accountable and forced to stop making OEMs pay Windows licenses for computers that didn’t ship with Windows.
As an aside, there is no “Windows tax”. OEMs make more than enough by bundling third party crapware it more than pays for Windows. But third party OSs - especially Linux was never going to be big on the desktop without third party commercial support. The only Unix[1] operating system that has ever gained any traction on the desktop is MacOS and Apple makes sure they bend over backwards to keep Microsoft and Adobe happy.
I sold IBM Aptivas briefly in the 90s that came with OS/2 at Radio Shack. They were not going to overtake the world.
2. As far as “bundling” in 2022, would you suggest any platform come without a browser? Macs, Windows, ChromeOS computers, iOS and Android all come with browsers. What would the consumer experience be like if all platforms just came with an empty desktop and they had to download everything?
[1] yes MacOS is real certified Unix.
And had it shipped on OEM machines that might have attracted more third party devs too. And they could have sold crapware if they wanted as well. It's impossible to say for certain that MS's policies had no impact on the desktop computer space.
As for 2, well that depends how hard is it to get a browser? Can I just open a store or repo and grab one or do I have to sneakernet it on there? I don't think it has to be a bad experience to have a barebones system if done right.
Vertical market apps are going to target the computer with the largest market share. You’re going to be hard pressed to tell your local dentist office they need to run Linux to run the equivalent of their VB based software.
Most people already complain when their first launch experience requires them to update their OS - mostly consoles. I can’t imagine telling my mom, to download a browser, email client, dialer, messaging app, calendar, contacts software, notes app, etc.
The app store being closed and not allowing 3rd party stores would be considered anti-competitive. They have a 100% monopoly on the ios application market.
I don't think they're doing much anti-competitive in the phone hardware space though.