An interview with Benedict Evans about his career, the differences between American and European approaches to regulation and antitrust, and the most important questions about AI.
Apple and Antitrust for Aggregators, DMA Investigations and Apple’s Risk
A much better antitrust case against Apple would focus on developers, not customers. Then, the E.U. is investigating all of American tech under the DMA; the chances of Apple leaving are not zero.
Apple and the Monopoly Question, iPhone Market Share, Apple’s Durability
More on the Apple antitrust case, and the pertinent question of whether or not the iPhone has dominant market share. Then, why the DOJ’s theory of the case is fundamentally flawed.
United States v. Apple
Apple is being sued by the DOJ, but most of the complaints aren’t about the App Store. I think, though, Apple’s approach to the App Store is what led to this case.
Microsoft and Inflection AI, Inflection Oddities, The Acquisition That Isn’t
Microsoft is acquiring Inflection AI in everything but name, which makes everything about this deal very strange.
The Supreme Court Declines to Hear Apple-Epic, Apple’s (Predictable) Response
The Supreme Court declined to hear the Apple Epic case, which means the injunction against Apple’s ban on steering links in apps goes into effect. Apple’s response, though, shows that nothing will change (and no one should be surprised).
Adobe Abandons Figma Acquisition; The Neo-Brandeis Movement’s Missed Opportunity; First, Do No Harm
The Adobe-Figma acquisition probably shouldn’t have gone through; that the right outcome was achieved for arguably the wrong reasons, though, is concerning for the long run of tech innovation.
Google Loses Antitrust Case to Epic; The Differences Between Apple and Google, Revisited; The Tying Question
Epic won its antitrust case against Google, which shouldn’t be a surprise to Stratechery readers: the situation is very different than Apple. What matters most in the decision, though, is tying.
Google’s Apple Payments; Apple Services: Narrative vs. Reality; Google’s Motivation
The juiciest detail yet came out of the Google antitrust case: how much the company pays Apple. This isn’t just a function of Apple’s leverage, but also Google’s strategic foresight.
Unity CEO Out, Microsoft Owns Activision
John Riccitiello is out as Unity’s CEO, but the circumstances of his exit may have done the company a favor. Then, Microsoft finally owns Activision, and the outlines of the deal are a win for everyone except the FTC.