Apple and Google competed somewhere, they were “like one company” elsewhere. It was a secret agreement, says Epic – Živé.sk

• According to Epic, Google and Apple have agreed on a joint duopoly.
• Although their systems competed somewhere, the conditions for application developers were allegedly left intentionally the same.
• Google also allegedly tried to financially motivate smartphone manufacturers not to offer an alternative to its Play Store.
• But let’s remember that with Android 12, the situation for alternative stores will improve slightly.

IN documents published in court Several other points of interest have been discovered by Epic. The company claims that while Google and Apple did compete in some areas, they co-operated in others under secret agreements between their bosses. For published information she pointed out editor of Politico magazine on the social network Twitter, the topic is subsequently devoted web Android Authority.

In the Epic complaint among other things describes how a personal meeting between the then bosses of Apple and Google – Steve Jobs and Larry Page – was to take place in 2010. Epic was to receive the information through minutes and notes from the meeting. He doesn’t know where he got them from.

Duopol

According to Epic, it is clear from the notes that Google and Apple maintained a close relationship with each other. The bosses allegedly talked about the “partnership” between Android and iOS at the mentioned meeting. It is said that their idea was to really compete in some areas, but to work together in others.

The main space for collaboration was to be the conditions for application developers. Epic directly calls their relationship in the document a duopoly, ie a common abuse of power to control the market. The conditions for the developers, including the amount of fees, were intentionally set by both companies in the same way, and in the event of a change, they adjusted them at once.

Epic even quotes some passages from the notes: “Our vision is to work as one company.” However, it is important to note that Epic’s claims cannot be verified and therefore still need to be considered unofficial information.

Google gave producers a share of the profits

However, the interesting facts from court documents do not end here. Epic over again described how Google was supposed to influence smartphone manufacturers. This time also with details – they allegedly received a share of the profit.

According to Epic, under the 2019 Premier Device Program, smartphone manufacturers were to receive a higher share of the profits if they supplied their devices exclusively with the Play Store. That is, if they did not install any other application store in them, such as Samsung its Galaxy Store or Huawei’s App Gallery.

The standard was reportedly an 8% share of Google search revenue. However, for equipment without alternative shops, manufacturers could, according to unofficial information, receive up to a 12% share of profits, ie half as much.

Epic claims that special agreements with specific manufacturers were not exceptional either. Google was to offer LG and Motorola between 3 and 6% of what their device owners spend on the Play Store.

Has Google changed its mind?

However, it is worth noting that Google recently did one big welcome step against alternative application stores. Starting with Android 12, it will make it easier to update applications downloaded outside the Play Store. How we are described in the instructions at the beginning of this year, the situation is relatively complicated in this case.

Alternative app stores will be able to update the software in the background after meeting the conditions and without “bothering” the user with confirmation windows. You can find more information about the upcoming news in a separate article.