The U.S. Department of Justice (with 15 state governments) says Apple has monopolized the smartphone market with restrictions on app developers that force consumers to pay higher prices. —Mike Scarcella, Reuters, March 22, 2024.
How concentrated is the smartphone market?
The answer depends on which market, the global market or the U.S. domestic market.
Figure 1 provides the answer for the global market.
The global smartphone market is not concentrated. In 2023, Apple and Samsung had 19 percent each, Xiaomi, Vivo, and OPPO shared 30 percent, and another 240 brands competed for the rest of the market.
The HHI for the global market is less than 1,200, indicating a highly competitive market.
Figure 2 provides the answer for the U.S. market.
The U.S. smartphone market is highly concentrated. In 2023, Apple had 56 percent and Samsung had 23 percent. Two others, Lenovo and Google, took a further 12 percent.
The HHI for the U.S. market is almost 4,000, indicating a highly concentrated market.
How concentrated was the desktop operating system market in the late 1990s?
In 1998, when the Justice Department accused Microsoft of monopolizing the desktop operating system market, its market share was 95 percent.
What does Apple say about the antitrust suit?
Apple says the U.S. government is wrong on the facts and the law.