After months of preparation, Epic Games will finally take on Apple in court in a trial that could fundamentally change the makeup of the App Store. The fight dates back to August, when Epic added a direct payment mechanism to its hit battle royale game Fortnite in violation of Apple’s rules. The iPhone maker quickly removed the game from the App Store, and Epic responded shortly after with an antitrust lawsuit aiming to establish the App Store as a monopoly. The case will finally be brought to trial starting May 3rd.
The trial promises to deliver huge revelations about the inner workings of one of the biggest and most influential companies in the world, with testimony from Apple CEO Tim Cook, Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, and more. We’ve already made some fascinating discoveries from documents published ahead of the trial, and there’s sure to be a lot more news ahead.
You can follow along with everything right here.
May 19, 2021, 7:42 PM UTCChris Welch
The level of Mac malware is not acceptable, says Apple’s Craig Federighi at Epic trial
Federighi said his own family members have encountered malware on macOS
May 19, 2021, 2:17 PM UTCRussell Brandom and Adi Robertson
Apple asks court to rule iOS is not an ‘essential facility’
‘At trial, Epic adduced no proof in support of this claim’
May 19, 2021, 1:43 AM UTCAdi Robertson
At the Epic trial, Phil Schiller got away clean
On Tuesday, Apple’s chief evangelist finished up his time on the stand
May 18, 2021, 12:41 AM UTCElizabeth Lopatto
Apple’s Phil Schiller gives Epic iPhone testimony
What does ‘locked in’ mean, though?
May 17, 2021, 8:19 PM UTCSean Hollister
Apple wants you to know it chose not to take a cut of $400 billion in physical goods
And it spends $50 million on WWDC
May 14, 2021, 8:54 PM UTCAdi Robertson
Apple said Roblox developers don’t make games, and now Roblox agrees
The word ‘game’ has been replaced by ‘experience’ across Roblox’s website
May 14, 2021, 12:32 AM UTCElizabeth Lopatto
Epic fights Apple in court by playing Candy Crush
Expert testimony continues
May 13, 2021, 1:12 PM UTCAdi Robertson
Apple needs to show iOS allows competition... while justifying locking it down
A deep look into gaming platform apps on iOS
May 12, 2021, 1:20 AM UTCAdi Robertson
Epic v. Apple keeps coming back to the gap between ignorance and inconvenience
Would ending anti-steering rules fix the App Store?
May 11, 2021, 12:45 AM UTCAdi Robertson
Epic and Apple are now fighting over a naked banana
“It’s just a banana, ma’am”
May 8, 2021, 2:07 AM UTCAdi Robertson
Apple is using Itch.io’s ‘offensive and sexualized’ games as a cudgel against Epic
Unspeakable games
May 8, 2021, 1:36 AM UTCElizabeth Lopatto
In Epic v Apple, everybody is losing at the game of defining games
Is Roblox a game or not?
May 7, 2021, 3:50 PM UTCRussell Brandom
After Xbox testimony, Apple tells Microsoft to put up or shut up
A new motion seeks to pull back testimony from Xbox executive Lori Wright
May 7, 2021, 1:31 AM UTCAdi Robertson
Epic needs to tarnish Apple’s App Store halo
How does Apple earn its 30 percent?
May 6, 2021, 11:00 AM UTCDieter Bohn and Tom Warren
Why the bad iPhone web app experience keeps coming up in Epic v. Apple
Safari just doesn’t support key features — and Safari’s the only option
May 6, 2021, 2:11 AM UTCIan Carlos Campbell
Internal emails reveal how badly Apple wanted to keep Netflix using in-app purchases
The streaming service stopped offering subscriptions in the App Store in 2018
May 6, 2021, 1:03 AM UTCAdi Robertson
Epic v. Apple turns into Windows v. Xbox
What is the iPhone, anyway?
May 5, 2021, 1:10 AM UTCAdi Robertson
Epic says there’s an App Store payment lockout — but Apple just sees friction
“What you’re really asking for is the ability to have impulse purchases”
May 4, 2021, 7:53 PM UTCRussell Brandom
Tim Sweeney emailed Tim Cook personally to call for open app sales after WWDC in 2015
‘Is this the guy that was at one of our rehearsals?’ Cook asked
May 4, 2021, 5:19 PM UTCTom Warren
Epic pushed Xbox chief to open free multiplayer just ahead of Apple Fortnite battle
More confidential emails reveal Fortnite inner workings
May 4, 2021, 2:57 PM UTCMakena Kelly
I watched the Epic v. Apple trial on Discord
It was... interesting
May 4, 2021, 1:02 PM UTCTom Warren
Walmart’s unannounced cloud gaming service detailed in confidential Epic emails
Project Storm was being worked on in 2019
May 4, 2021, 11:05 AM UTCJon Porter
Apple exec suggested cutting App Store commission to 20 percent as early as 2011
‘Do we think our 70/30 split will last forever?’
May 4, 2021, 9:16 AM UTCJon Porter
Epic spent at least $11.6 million on free games and gained 5 million new users in return
Over $11.6 million for 38 games
May 4, 2021, 12:28 AM UTCAdi Robertson
Apple antitrust trial kicks off with Tim Sweeney’s metaverse dreams
The Epic Games CEO took the stand for the first day of Epic v. Apple
