Apple’s monopoly of the smartphone market along with their business bullying practises, are finally set to be exposed after the US Federal Government overnight rolled out a landmark lawsuit against Apple, which accuses the tech giant of monopolising the smartphone market and crushing competition.

According to the US justice department, Apple’s share of the US smartphone market exceeds 70%, and its share of the broader smartphone market exceeds 65%, their market share is similar in Australia.

Set to be exposed is their bullying practises of retailers and partners and the way in which they try and crush competition if anyone threatens them.

In Australia local management are seen as bullies who dictate Apple terms often without fair returns for people selling an Apple product that also includes Beats headphones.

As one retailer once told ChannelNews “At Apple consumers are there to be milked of revenue”.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland claims.”Apple undermines apps, products, and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone,”

“Apple exercises its monopoly power to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, among others.” he added.

FILE PHOTO: A man holds an iPhone 14 as Apple Inc’s new models go on sale at an Apple store in Beijing, China, September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

Apple has faced a growing legal backlash over its iOS ecosystem and business practices from various governments around the world during the past two years including Australia.

Last month, it was fined A$3 billion dollars by the EU for breaking competition laws over music streaming.

The firm had prevented streaming services from informing users of payment options outside the Apple app store, the European Commission said.

In the latest legal action, the justice department alleges the company used its control of the iPhone to illegally limit competitors and consumer option with millions being set aside by the US Federal Government to take Apple on.

This is an organisation who have been fined billions in the past for illegal activities, openly stolen other people’s technology while also manipulating consumers into overpriced purchases of Apple products.

The latest complaint accuses Apple management of deliberately squashing the growth of new apps and reducing the appeal of rival products.

Apple has vowed to “vigorously” fight the lawsuit and denies the claims.

The complaint, filed at a federal court in New Jersey, alleges that Apple used “a series of shapeshifting rules” in a bid to “thwart innovation” and “throttle” competitors.

It accuses the California-based company of stopping competitors from offering rival services on the iPhone while also making it difficult for users to switch to alternative operating systems.

In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland claimed that Apple creates barriers that make it extremely difficult and expensive for both users and developers to venture outside the Apple ecosystem,” Mr Garland said.

Known for locking consumers in an effort to extract revenue at any cost Apple stands accused of “undermining apps, products and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone”.

The complaint lists a number of “anti-competitive” steps allegedly taken by the company, including blocking apps, suppressing mobile cloud streaming services, limiting third-party digital wallets and “diminishing the functionality” of smartwatches not made by the company.

Overnight Garland said Apple had “maintained its monopoly, not simply by staying ahead of the competition on the merits, but by violating US federal antitrust laws”.

IN Australia authorities are starting to wake up to the bullying practises of Apple with a Melbourne Federal Court Judge questioning the practises of Apple in the case of Epic Vs Apple.

“Consumers should not have to pay higher prices because companies break the law,” Mr Garland said, accusing Apple of “locking its customers in” while at the same time “locking its competitors out”.

He pointed to the experience of iPhone users who message non-Apple smartphones, which he said led to “limited functionality” including non-encrypted communications and pixelated or grainy images.

If the case against apple is successful in the USA, it could lead to massive changes in the way that Apple is allowed to do business in the future.

The overnight announcements have been welcomed by the likes of Samsung and Motorola with Apple facing the real possibility of having to alter contracts, or possibly even make structural changes within the company, according to the complaint and officials at the press conference.

A spokesman for Apple, Fred Sainz said that the lawsuit was “wrong on the facts and the law” and that Apple would “vigorously defend against it”.

Anat Alon-Beck, a business law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told the BBC that Apple “systematically” excludes rivals from its ecosystem.

“By doing that, Apple is hurting so many start-up businesses, stakeholders, customers, and in my opinion, its shareholders,” she said.

Another antitrust expert, Vanderbilt University professor Rebecca Allensworth, called the case a “blockbuster” – even if it mirrors the cases the justice department has recently brought against US tech giants.

Ms Alon-Beck said the justice department’s new lawsuit was “far more extensive” than its previous legal challenges in the EU.

Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Apple had abused its dominant position in the market for a decade and ordered the tech giant to remove all of the restrictions. Apple said it would appeal against the decision.