@evan No, but of all the tech monopolies (or companies approximating them), they may be the least terrible.

@samir I get 17% global smartphone market share, 9% global personal computer marketshare. I don't think that is even close to a monopoly. It's interesting that they give that vibe, though!

Interesting results. I'm going with yes, but. Thanks to everyone for your answers!

@evan How does it skew when you start looking at revenue and profit, though? How about amount spent on lobbying in rich countries? Influence in standards bodies such as the IETF, W3C, etc?

I don’t think monopolies and duopolies can be defined purely in terms of consumer marketshare.

@samir

No, that's pretty much the dictionary definition of a monopoly.

"A situation, by legal privilege or other agreement, in which solely one party (company, cartel etc.) exclusively provides a particular product or service, dominating that market and generally exerting powerful control over it."

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/monopoly

@evan I understand that. It’s why I put in my caveat of “companies approximating them”.

@evan I also believe dictionaries are descriptive, and English can change.

@samir OK. Would it also make sense to consider why Apple seems like a monopoly? It's possibly because they've taken the high-profit luxury end of the phone and computer markets, so they are making tonnes of money in those spaces. Luxury goods can seem like they have an outsized presence in the market.

@evan I think there’s more to it. They have outsized influence, not just presence.

Perhaps another term is more useful, then. The UK Competition Act, for example, talks about a “dominant position” in a given market.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/41/part/I/chapter/II

@samir OK. Good luck.