Google and Apple called "effective duopoly" in mobile tech market; UK watchdog to launch market investigation

You may have heard that tech giants have faced scrutiny in recent years. Governments and agencies all over the world have been pointing their microscopes at big and influential tech companies, trying to determine the state of competition in the tech market.

Another investigation of Google and Apple is now about to be launched, this time from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), reports Android Headlines. The two tech giants are under scrutiny (yet again), this time specifically in terms of mobile phones.

UK's CMA is investigating Google and Apple's duopoly in mobile tech

It seems the CMA has reached a conclusion that Apple and Google are holding a so-called duopoly (yes, from monopoly, but coming from two companies, hence, a duopoly) when it comes to mobile phones. It has been looking into the two companies for a year now, and now is planning to launch a thorough market investigation on the two.

The CMA plans to investigate the tech giants' market power in mobile browsers, as well as Apple's cloud gaming restrictions. But that's not everything: the watchdog has also launched a separate investigation into Google's Play Store rules (we are talking here about the fact that Google requires some developers to use its own payment system for in-app purchases).

A year after the launch of the CMA's initial investigation effort on the two companies, it has called the Google and Apple situation an "effective duopoly" on mobile ecosystems.

In the UK, a total of 97% of mobile web browsing is powered by Apple's or Google's browsers, found the CMA. That could be due to the fact that iPhones and Androids come with pre-installed Safari and Chrome browsers respectively.

On top of that, Apple requires developers to use Apple's WebKit engine for their iOS and iPadOS apps to browse the web (basically, enforcing more control over them). And also, the agency pointed out that Apple has policies that prevent cloud gaming apps to be available for downloading from the App Store. Yes, that means that cloud gaming services have to individually submit each game for review and approval for it to be listed.

There's an exception for services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and they are available on iOS through a browser, but this doesn't fully address the cloud gaming situation.

The CMA believes that if no one intervenes, that would just help those two tech giants solidify their hold over mobile browsers and even mobile operating systems. As you may imagine, such a situation, believes the agency, is detrimental for individuals or other companies looking to develop tech products, and ultimately leads to less innovation.