Apple is the tech company towering almost anything else in the business. And this is also why the company is no stranger to scrutiny.
One of the reasons, is because Apple maintains a walled-garden, where everything must abide to its policy, or else. And CEO Tim Cook who sits at the helm, said that everything Apple does, is for the sake of its users.
For example, reforming the App Store is not in the best interests of users, and that would simply ruin the security of the iPhone.
Cook said in an interview with Brut:
"That would destroy the security of the iPhone and a lot of the privacy initiatives that we've built into the App Store, where we have privacy nutrition labels, and app-tracking transparency, which gets people to give permission to be tracked across apps."
“These things would not exist anymore except in people that stuck in our ecosystem, and so I worry deeply about privacy and security.”
What makes many to think that Apple is maintaining a walled-garden, is its policy that doesn't permit users to sideload apps.
Google's Android for example, allows users to install third-party apps by directly opening an APK file. Users can also download apps not from Google Play Store, and from alternative app stores. These, have long been among the things users can experience when using Android, compared to iOS.
Android allows greater control, and allows a lot more customizations.
Apple on the other hand, does not allow those to ever happen. And speaking of sideloading, sideloading is only possible if the iPhone users have is tied to a developer account.
Apple has clung to its status as a gatekeeper, and has resisted any attempts to loosen its grip. Apple’s tight control of its ecosystem, if compared to Google’s comparatively more permissive stance, is not going anywhere.
Cook said that sideloading apps on iPhones would "damage privacy and security."
There is no doubt that having the ability to sideload apps does come with security risks.
By downloading apps not from the official app store, users can be exposed to malware, which can make them vulnerable to even more privacy and security issues.
But Apple in becoming a strict gatekeeper that controls everything, is killing the competition.
People want choices, developers want flexibility, and regulators want a fair market.
And Apple is only giving them a little.
Apple is not a perfect company. It has flaws here and there, just like Google, and just like every other company out there.
It's just that Apple's monopolistic behavior is concerning so many people. With the ability to simply box out rivals and kick whoever it wishes, Apple's walled-garden is an ecosystem too strict for those who expect more from Apple.
But again, Apple is doing this for the sake of its users. And with that message, Apple remains reasonable, if not slippery as a fish in water.