[ad_1]
- In 2022, Tim Cook tells someone to buy his Android-using mother an iPhone.
- Now, this comment is part of the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Apple.
- The Justice Department claims this is an example of Apple’s anti-competitive strategy.
CEO Tim Cook’s quip was included in the Justice Department’s 88-page antitrust complaint against Apple.
Cook’s words came while taking questions from the audience at the 2022 Code Conference as part of a panel moderated by technology journalist Kara Swisher.
Vox Media’s LiQuan Hunt asked Cook whether Apple plans to improve messaging between its smartphones and Android devices.
In particular, the questioner mentioned the “green side of things,” or the green messages iPhone users receive when they text someone using an Android smartphone.
Cook initially denied there was a need to improve messaging between Android and iPhone.
“I don’t hear users asking us to put a lot of energy into it at this point,” he replied, drawing laughs from other audience members.
But Hunt continued. “It’s nothing personal, but I can’t send certain videos to my mom and she can’t send certain videos to me,” he said.
“Please buy your mom an iPhone,” Cook interrupted, prompting more laughter from the audience before Swisher moved on to another question.
The full text of the exchange can be viewed here.
A year and a half later, the second half of that conversation appears on page 39 of the department’s complaint against Apple. The Justice Department says this is one of many examples of Apple’s efforts to block competition in the smartphone market.
“Apple protects its smartphone monopoly by disparaging and weakening cross-platform messaging apps and rival smartphones,” the complaint says.
The company has hinted since Cook’s comments that some changes are coming to messaging between Android and iPhone. Apple is reportedly adding rich communication services to the iPhone later this year. This addition allows non-iMessage users to access features such as photo enhancements and read receipts.
But the issue is bigger than the shaky emails between you and your mother, the ministry insists.
Apple also blocked at least one developer from offering encryption for Apple Messages between iPhone and Android. According to the complaint, this makes iPhones “less than normal” safe for everyone who uses them.
Apple told Business Insider that if the department’s lawsuit is successful, the department’s ability to develop new technology will be limited.
“We believe this lawsuit is wrong based on the facts and law, and we will vigorously defend it,” the company said in a statement.
[ad_2]
Source link
