“Bureaucrats in Brussels” are unfairly challenging Apple’s closed ecosystem and denying users the “magical, innovative experience” that makes the firm unique, Apple said.
The so-called walled garden that combines Apple’s products and software ensures a safe and high quality experience for users, it says, but EU regulators counter that it unfairly shuts out rivals.
It designs its own hardware, though.
I’m not saying it’s a virtuous company, just a bit better than others (which is not cheap if you’re not oligarch’s blonde daughter).
It doesn’t. It designs part of the chips that go into their phones.
Google also designs chips that go into its phones, and Microsoft has also designed chips and security co processors that have gone into PCs.
(Of course, I’d never consider a Microsoft “security co processor” secure, nor an apple or google one).
[edit] I also do not see your point of apple being better (or more virtuous) than google or microsoft for designing their own hardware, for 2 different reasons:
Currently Microsoft and Google have immense control over the software of PCs and phones. Apple wants to have full control of both the software and the hardware, and making their own hardware is a big step towards that goal. It means they’re restricting you (the user) from using the hardware you bought for your own purpose.
Making custom hardware does not make a company more or less virtuous. Manufacturing/designing capabilities are just spending money in the respective industry. As I mentioned before, both Google and Microsoft have designed their own chips, and they also have designed chips for their servers. I would also argue that we should stop humanizing companies. They don’t have human traits, they’re not virtuous, they’re just there to take your money and go.
Agree on that.