Apple lawsuit: The Apple built by Steve Jobs is like Hotel California, you can check out but you can never leave

Call it a “walled garden” or an ecosystem, but at the heart of Thursday’s blockbuster U.S. lawsuit against Apple are the many ways the company keeps customers loyal to its products.

– Apple and PCs –

Over its nearly half-century history, Apple made the decision early on that its products stood out on their own and should not be combined with those of other companies.

As fans tout its better design and simpler interface, Apple often draws criticism from PC users who view its products as technology straightjackets that deprive users of the flexibility to add software and features as they see fit.

This spirit has never left Apple, and it largely embodies the charge leveled against Apple: The company Steve Jobs built was like the Hotel California, you could check out, but you could never leave.

– operating system or nothing –

At Apple, hardware has always been the center of its universe, and before the iPhone, the North Star was the Mac computer, which couldn’t run Microsoft’s world-dominating Windows operating system or use a mouse it wasn’t designed for. apple.

Apple’s software is designed specifically for its devices and aims to provide seamless integration. You are simply not allowed to run any operating system other than Apple’s operating system on your Apple device. The two become one.

Apple’s world is often compared to luxury goods rather than technology. To stay in this universe, you have to pay a premium, and the discounts are minimal.

– garden growing –

The ecosystem continues to evolve as the iPhone revolution has made Apple one of the most profitable companies in history.

In 2012, headphones require Apple’s exclusive Lightning cable, rather than the audio jack that has served them well since the Sony Walkman. Apple’s old chargers are also outdated.

While you can easily share media and files between iPhones, sharing between iPhone and Android is much more complicated.

Apple’s ecosystem now extends beyond hardware products to include services such as iCloud, Apple Music and the App Store, and it’s here that the company has found itself in hot water with regulators.

Companies including Spotify, Meta and Fortnite creator Epic Games have accused Apple of making it difficult for them to grow on iPhones, where the vast majority of consumer computing now happens.

– Switching is never easy –

There is no doubt that iPhone works well with other Apple devices like Mac and Apple TV.

The more embedded users are in Apple’s ecosystem, the harder it is to switch to competing products or services from other companies, according to the company’s critics.

Switching from an iPhone is a bit like losing your wallet: It’s a big hassle, requiring arduous reprogramming, new accessories, and learning new ways to interact with your pocket computer.

Give up your iPhone, and you’ll have to give up your Apple Watch, or accept a world where your Airpods malfunction, are less reliable, and your TV might miss important updates.

This “lock-in” effect is the centerpiece of the U.S. lawsuit against Apple, with the iPhone maker blocking exports and raising prices for customers who feel they have nowhere to go.

– Danger lurks –

Apple says its universe is part of the company’s unique appeal to consumers who want beautifully designed, closed systems that offer reliability, security and ease of use.

Apple enthusiasts, for example, argue that the Android world is far more glitchy and more prone to malware and bugs.

The company says the fees it charges developers and companies are a fair cost of entry into the Apple world.

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