The European Commission has concluded an antitrust investigation into Corning’s glass supply deals.And for once, Apple just watched from the sidelines.Apple not part of the relevant market The European Commission has accepted a series of commitments from Corning, wrapping up an investigation over potentially anticompetitive practices involving the supply of its famous Gorilla Glass (officially called Alkali-aluminosilicate glass, or ‘Alkali-AS Glass’), used in the cover layer of smartphones, tablets, and wearables.
The EU’s preliminary findings had flagged that Corning may have abused its dominant position by locking OEMs and glass processing companies into exclusive or near-exclusive supply arrangements, unfairly shutting out competing glass manufacturers.However, while Corning does supply Apple with specialty cover glass, the Commission found that those particular products fell outside the scope of the investigation, “as these have special compositions and are only used by Apple.” For the rest of the relevant market, to address regulators’ concerns, Corning submitted a series of commitments in hopes of satisfying the EC and avoiding further action.And that’s what happened, after a little back and forth: In essence, Corning will remove exclusivity clauses from its agreements with OEMs and finishers, won’t require minimum purchase commitments in the EU to unlock discounts, and won’t tie pricing to how much glass a customer buys globally.
Corning and the EU have agreed on a nine-year window for the commitments to remain in effect, during which time a trustee will monitor compliance.The company’s agreement with Apple, meanwhile, remains intact.Via Apple Watch deals on Amazon 40mm Apple Watch SE 2: $169 (was $249) 42mm Apple Watch Series 10: $299 (was $399) 46mm Apple Watch Series 10: $329 (was $429) You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day.
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