focus on the hocus
In the midst of a historic antitrust case against Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) for its alleged dominance in the smartphone market, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) went after the tech giant and said it is “ruining relationships.”
“Green texts on iPhones are ruining relationships,” Senator Warren said A video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “That’s right. Everywhere non-iPhone users are being left out of group messaging, from sports team chats to birthday chats to vacation plan chats, they’re being left out. They’re missing out on shows and conversations. And who’s to blame here? Apple “
Warren went on to say that this is one of the “dirty tactics” that Apple uses to maintain a “death grip on the smartphone market,” adding that she supports breaking up Apple’s monopoly “now.”
Apple did not immediately respond to Seeking Alpha’s request for comment.
The actions were slightly higher in premarket trading on Friday.
The Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit in a New Jersey federal court last month, alleging that Apple violated the Sherman Act by using its iPhone to block other companies from offering competitive services such as digital wallets.
The lawsuit also claims that Apple limits the functionality of the hardware and makes it difficult for users to switch and communicate with competing devices, such as Android phones.
The Justice Department was joined by 16 other state and district attorneys general. The complaint alleges that Apple holds monopoly power in the smartphone and performance smartphone markets.
In November 2023, Apple reversed course from its long-standing approach and said it would add support for Rich Communication Services, or RCS, later in 2024.
This decision will allow you to send SMS between your devices and Android (GOOG) (GOOGL) devices more seamlessly.
Apple is expected to release fiscal second-quarter results on May 2, after the close of trading. An analyst consensus expects the company to earn $1.51 per share on revenue of $90.6 billion.