Apple Versus Google, Season Two

Google and Apple dominate the world of smartphones, thanks respectively to their Android and iOS operating systems. Yet they are not locked in face-to-face competition, being rooted in quite different business ecosystems and models. More importantly, their platforms are differentiated, even if they support the same killer apps, from Angry Birds to YouTube, through Facebook and Uber. This explains why rivalry between the twoWest Coast firms is likely to last, without one necessarily sidelining the other. But if we turn our attention to the countless application developers, competition is head-on and ferocious. They are all intent on drawing and holding the attention of consumers. They are also in competition with Google, which pre-installs its proprietary apps (Google Earth, Finance, Weather, Maps, Search, etc.). This practice is the focus of criticism by competition authorities. Let’s take a closer look at all this, drawing on a new set of economic concepts.