Apple and Google may be forced to change app stores

The way we download apps to our phones could change following a ruling by the UK's competition regulator.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given the two tech giants “strategic market status”, effectively declaring them to have great power over mobile platforms.

This means Apple and Google may have to make changes. after the CMA said they “may restrict innovation and competition”.

The decision drew fury from the tech giants, with Apple saying it risked harm to consumers by “eroding privacy” and “delaying access to new features” and Google calling the decision “disappointing, disproportionate and unjustified.”

“We simply do not see the rationale for today's designation decision,” said Google's competition chief Oliver Bethell.

But the CMA said it had not “found or suspected wrongdoing” by the firms.

“The app economy generates 1.5% of UK GDP and supports around 400,000 jobs, so it is vital that these markets work well for business,” said Will Hayter, CMA chief executive of digital markets.

The investigation into Apple and Google's app stores, browsers and operating systems has focused on how visible their own apps are compared to their competitors.

“Around 90-100% of mobile devices in the UK run on Apple or Google mobile platforms,” the CMA said. previously saidadding that this means the firms “maintain an efficient duopoly.”

According to analysis from Uswitch48.5% of UK users have an iPhone running Apple's iOS operating system (OS), while the vast majority of the rest use Google's Android OS.

This comes after a separate decision in October that the CMA appointed by Google search department as having a strategic market status.

It is not known exactly what changes the regulator will require, but in July it published roadmaps outlining potential measures it would take if firms were found to have strategic market status.

These include demands that it be easier for people to transfer data and switch easily between Apple and Android devices, and that both companies rate apps “fairly, objectively and transparently” in their app stores.

Specifically, Apple could be required to allow alternative app stores on its devices and allow people to download programs directly from company websites.

Such a move would be a significant change to the so-called “closed system” that has defined iPhones since their inception, where apps can only be downloaded from Apple's own App Store.

Both of these things are currently possible on Android devices, but the roadmap says Google may have to “change the user experience” when downloading apps directly from websites, as well as “remove barriers for users” when using alternative app stores, such as hosting them directly on the Google Play Store.

Android is an open source operating system, which means developers can use it and build on it for free.

Google says this means opening up competition.

Mr. Bethell said that “the majority of Android users” use alternative app stores or download apps directly from the developer's website, and said there is a much larger selection of apps available to Android users compared to apps on Apple devices.

“There are currently 24,000 Android phone models from 1,300 phone manufacturers around the world and they face stiff competition from iOS in the UK,” he said.

Meanwhile, Apple warned that the UK could lose access to new features as happened in the EU, which the company blames on technology regulation.

For example, some Apple Intelligence features that have been deployed in other parts of the world are not available in the EU.

“Apple faces intense competition in every market in which we operate, and we work tirelessly to create the best products, services and user experiences,” the company said in a statement.

“The UK's adoption of EU-style rules would undermine this, leaving users with weaker privacy and security, delayed access to new features and a fragmented, less seamless experience.”

But consumer group Which? said that limiting the influence of these companies in other countries “is already helping businesses innovate and giving consumers more choice.”

“Their dominance is now causing real harm, limiting consumer choice and limiting competition for businesses,” said Rocío Concha, head of policy and advocacy.