One could argue that everything Apple does- in toto- maintains and expands the world’s most valuable and enticing ecosystem. The question of what they’re “entitled” to, or what is “fair”, is a tricky one, but Apple certainly brings more to the table than payment processing-- that it perhaps just the simplest way to “invoice” developers.
Great summary from Axios:
A federal judge’s long-awaited ruling in Epic Games’ antitrust lawsuit against Apple gave both sides opportunities to claim wins.
Driving the news: The ruling, delivered Friday morning, requires Apple to let Epic, and other developers, tell users about alternative payment mechanisms and to link out to their own transaction systems.
Yes, but: Federal District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Epic “failed in its burden to demonstrate Apple is an illegal monopolist” and is not entitled to other remedies it sought.
The big picture: That means Apple gets to keep its system of taking commissions of up to 30% on transactions in its mobile App Store. Apple can also continue to prevent app developers from setting up rival app stores or alternative payment systems that operate inside apps distributed via Apple’s store.
What they’re saying: “Today the Court has affirmed what we’ve known all along: the App Store is not in violation of antitrust law,” Apple said in a statement. “As the Court recognized ‘success is not illegal.’”
- Epic CEO Tim Sweeney tweeted, “Today’s ruling isn’t a win for developers or for consumers,” and added, “Fortnite will return to the iOS App Store when and where Epic can offer in-app payment in fair competition with Apple in-app payment, passing along the savings to consumers.”
What’s next: Observers expect either or both parties to appeal the decision, which would likely put the judge’s order on hold.
That’s what I’m hoping for as epwell