The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially confirmed that Apple and Google hold “strategic market status” (SMS) in their mobile platforms, a move that gives the regulator broad powers to address potential competition concerns in the country’s app and mobile ecosystem.
The designation applies to each company’s mobile operating systems, app stores, browsers, and browser engines, the foundations of the modern smartphone experience for millions of UK users.
The decision, announced Wednesday, follows months of consultation and comes under the UK’s new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, which took effect on January 1, 2025.
Regulator cites entrenched power, limited consumer switching
According to the CMA, both Apple and Google “have substantial, entrenched market power and a position of strategic significance in their respective mobile platforms.”
The regulator noted that UK consumers largely fall into one of two camps — Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android — and are “unlikely to switch between them,” creating an effective duopoly in the market.
“Apple and Google’s mobile platforms are used by thousands of businesses right across the economy to market and sell products and services to millions of customers, but the platforms’ rules may be limiting innovation and competition,” said Will Hayter, Executive Director for Digital Markets at the CMA, in a statement.
The CMA emphasized that the designation is not a finding of wrongdoing but instead enables the authority to take “proportionate, targeted interventions” aimed at improving competition, opening access for developers, and ensuring fair treatment for consumers and businesses that depend on these platforms.
Apple and Google push back
Unsurprisingly, the two US tech giants reacted strongly to the designation, arguing it could stifle innovation rather than encourage it.
Oliver Bethell, Senior Director for Competition at Google, described the CMA’s move as “disappointing, disproportionate and unwarranted.”
Bethell added: “The UK’s new digital markets regime was introduced with the promise of being pro-growth and pro-innovation. In this context, we simply do not see the rationale for today’s designation decision.” He argued that Android was designed to promote openness and user choice.
“Android and Chrome were built on the idea of creating more choice, not less. Anyone, including our competitors, can customize and build devices with the open-source Android operating system — for free.”
Bethell further highlighted that users are not confined to Google Play, noting that “the majority of Android users actually download apps from rival stores or directly from a developer’s website.” He also pointed to figures showing Android supports over £9.9 billion in revenue for UK developers and 457,000 UK jobs.
Apple, meanwhile, expressed concern that the CMA’s approach mirrors that of the European Union’s regulatory stance and could end up hurting consumers.
“Apple faces fierce competition in every market where we operate,” the company said in a statement. “The UK’s adoption of EU-style rules would undermine that, leaving users with weaker privacy and security, delayed access to new features, and a fragmented, less seamless experience.”
What the designation means
The SMS label enables the CMA to impose new conduct requirements or corrective measures if deemed necessary. These include requiring Apple to open its devices to alternative app stores or directing both firms to make app store rankings fairer and more transparent.
In its earlier proposals, the regulator also suggested enabling developers to “steer” customers toward make purchases outside the official app stores, an area where both Apple and Google have long collected commissions of up to 30%.
These steps will be designed to encourage competition, boost innovation, and ensure fair treatment for smaller businesses operating in the UK’s app economy, a sector that accounts for 1.5% of the UK’s GDP and supports around 400,000 jobs, according to CMA data.
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