Does Apple dominate the smartwatch market because of a monopoly or because of strong customer support?
Apple dominates the smartwatch market among iPhone users. This is no surprise
The DOJ, in its filing, says that Apple “degrades” the performance of competing smartwatches “in at least three significant ways.” What are these ways? “First, Apple deprives iPhone users with third-party smartwatches of the ability to respond to notifications. Second, Apple inhibits third-party smartwatches from maintaining a reliable connection with the iPhone. And third, Apple undermines the performance of third-party smartwatches that connect directly with a cellular network. In doing so, Apple constrains user choice and crushes innovation that might help fill in the moat around Apple’s smartphone monopoly.”
Apple’s AirPods are the preferred earbuds among iPhone users
Android phone owners buy their wireless earbuds from a wider range of manufacturers
Android users in the States choose from a wider range of wireless Bluetooth earbuds. Among those with an Android phone, Samsung had a leading 19% market share followed by JBL (14%), Bose (11%), Beats (10%), and Skull Candy (8%). The “other” category, made up of many different brands with a lower share, collectively had 30% of the market among Android phone users.
The DOJ and Apple will both spend the trial trying to convince the judge that they are right
Does this prove that Apple has “rigged” the game? Or does it simply mean that Apple device owners are more likely to stay within the company’s ecosystem? This is a question that both the DOJ and Apple will try to answer in a way that convinces the judge that their position is right.
