Because of their decades of truly great products, Apple thinks they are more clever than anyone else. Because of their focus on privacy, Apple thinks they are righteous. Because of their financial success, Apple thinks they are more powerful than governments. The DMA will test whether they’re right.
@manton BTW, in case anyone wants Apple to create a backdoor for surveillance; there’s no need. Apple made one themselves, apparently, and was discovered and reported as CVE-2023-38606. Apple closed it in software, but it’s still there, in hardware, as far as we know. So privacy isn’t really guaranteed with Apple if governments learn of this.
It seems Apple has made it impossible to discover, and it most likely is for something really scary, like a nuclear time bomb in New York with the codes on a secured iPhone. Apple would be foolish not to have something like this, just in case thousands of lives depend on it. In that sense, yes, they are far more powerful than any government. So are Google and Microsoft.
@manton I know many people believe Apple is better than other large corporations (eg, Google) but that’s not my point of view.
@manton the whole DMA thing is one of the biggest challenges they will be facing in a long time. They no longer control the agenda and they are put on the defensive; they’re not used to be in that position. They are entering their Microsoft-in-the-nineties moment.
They are entering their Microsoft-in-the-nineties moment.
Yes, exactly this. Apple developed some cultural traits that served the company well as an underdog, but they shed underdog status long ago. They have failed to adjust their attitudes accordingly, and that is going to be their downfall. Only government overseers can keep them in check, so that is what will happen.
@fgtech I wouldn’t go as far as saying “their downfall” but at least, as a first step: a solid reality check. 😉
@numericcitizen Fair point. Guess I’m feeling especially crabby today. Also: one thing Apple seems better at than, say, Microsoft is recognizing when they are falling and taking corrective action. Time will tell, in this case. It might take people leaving the platform to get the message across.
@fgtech Agree. It took way too long to recognize their fault in designing the keyboard on 2016-2019 MacBook… but eventually they did their homework… not without damaging their reputation, though.