Apple is accused of violating antitrust laws by abusing its dominant position. Prosecutors have compared the lawsuit to other landmark cases, such as the one they brought against Microsoft.

In 1998, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs criticized Microsoft's monopoly and "dirty tactics" in operating systems. The success of the antitrust case against Microsoft allowed the success of Apple's iPod and iTunes to multiply.. Almost all the applications on the first iPhone, launched in 2007, were created by Apple. Apple has a market share of more than 70% of the high-performance smartphone market.