The recent legal actions against Apple have started to crack the walled garden. Other companies, however, are targets of similar actions, but fewer issues due to a difference in business strategy.
Rather than creating lock in on hardware, there is a pseudo lock in within the ecosystem. Microsoft and Google offer their apps/services on all platforms, whereas Apple has limited the majority of their apps/services to their hardware. This kind of vendor lock in makes it difficult to change platforms, which is Apple’s goal. What this means for Apple is that competition is restricted as you have tighter vertical integration, but more importantly, if you hold the keys to the kingdom, you can just deny competition and innovation from 3rd parties.
This is why, outside of the US, that Apple is not quite popular. Other hardware vendors are pushing boundaries regarding physical capabilities and other app developers are adding features/making adjustments to compete against each other all while having a large userbase to pull funds from.
From an Apple consumer perspective, Apple hasn’t done much in terms of hardware (outside of Apple Silicon enhancements) regarding the iPhone as they aren’t competing at the same level as other vendors. Apps like Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, and Slack are sorta competing with FaceTime and iMessage, but other iOS restrictions regarding default applications and browser restrictions are preventing me from fully utilizing these kinds of apps to their fullest, which allows Apple to be slow when it comes to rolling out features or flat out refuse to invest in certain areas.
What I would like to see is Apple create equivalent apps for Android and/or web/desktop to fully expand the ecosystem and embrace competition. However, as we’ve seen, Apple doesn’t make a choice like this willingly unless external forces (like lawsuits/regulations) force their hand. I’ve been hoping that their push into services has made them realize that new revenue streams across platforms exist, but I think they fear tarnishing their premium brand image by losing complete control.
Here’s hoping for meaningful changes due to the EU and others (and perhaps a leadership change in direction). Otherwise, they’ll continue to stagnate and lose their focus on quality since they know people will not leave no matter what they do/don’t do.