The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched investigations to determine if Apple and Google have strategic market status (SMS) in their mobile ecosystems, including operating systems, app stores and mobile browsers.
Under the digital markets competition regime, the CMA may designate firms as having SMS in relation to a particular digital activity such as mobile ecosystems.
If the Apple or Google mobile ecosystems are designated as SMS, the CMA can impose conduct requirements or propose pro-competition interventions to achieve positive outcomes for UK consumers and businesses.
Two investigations running in parallel – one into Apple and another into Google – will assess the two firms’ position in their respective mobile ecosystems.
CMA says the investigations will explore the impact on people who use mobile devices and the thousands of businesses developing innovative services or content such as apps for these devices.
"Almost all (94%) of 16+ year olds in the UK – around 56 million UK consumers – currently have access to a smartphone and the average UK user spends around 3 hours a day using a mobile device," CMA says.
"Almost 15,000 businesses are involved in the development of apps used on mobile devices in the UK, and the total UK revenue for app development is estimated to be around £28 billion."
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As is the case elsewhere in the West, nearly all mobile devices sold in the UK are pre-installed with either iOS or Android and Apple’s and Google’s own app stores and browsers have either exclusive or leading positions on their platforms compared to alternative products and services.
The CMA says this means Apple and Google are able to exert considerable influence over much of the content, services and technological development provided on a mobile device.
The investigations will investigate issues relating to Apple’s and Google’s mobile ecosystems, such as extent of competition; barriers to entry for competitors; leveraging of market power to favour own apps and services; and exploitative conduct towards developers and consumers.
If the dreaded SMS tag is applied to a mobile ecosystem, Apple or Google could be forced to do things such as open up access to key functionality needed by other apps to operate on mobile devices.
"More competitive mobile ecosystems could foster new innovations and new opportunities across a range of services that millions of people use, be they app stores, browsers or operating systems," Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said.
"Better competition could also boost growth here in the UK, with businesses able to offer new and innovative types of products and services on Apple’s and Google’s platforms."
The CMA says it will focus on engaging a wide range of stakeholders, including device manufacturers, software developers and user groups – as well as gathering evidence from Apple and Google before reaching a decision by the end of October 2025.