The UK competition watchdog's investigation conclusions could eventually force Apple and Google to loosen their grip on mobile systems. 

The announcement follows the publication of the CMA's Mobile Ecosystem Market Study report, which found that Apple and Google have an effective duopoly on mobile ecosystems, which was harming UK-based web developers and cloud gaming service providers, holding back innovation and adding unnecessary costs. 

The survey concluded that this market dominance allowed the two companies to "exercise a stranglehold over operating systems, app stores and web browsers on mobile devices".

The CMA’s findings state that 97 per cent of all mobile web browsing in the UK in 2021 occurred on browsers powered by Apple’s Safari or Google’s Chrome, meaning any restrictions on these engines can have a major impact on users’ experiences. 

There are already more than 800,000 users of cloud gaming services in the UK but restrictions...