According to Ars Technica, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has largely upheld a 2021 injunction against Apple’s App Store rules. The ruling, stemming from Epic Games’ lawsuit, permanently prohibits Apple from blocking developers from including links or buttons that direct users to external payment systems. This legal battle began in August 2020 when Epic intentionally violated Apple’s rules to trigger the lawsuit. The court rejected Apple’s request for a stay, meaning the injunction is now in effect. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney immediately declared this “the end of the Apple Tax” in the United States. However, the court also affirmed that Apple did not violate federal antitrust law, a partial win for the tech giant.
Stakeholder Shakeup
So, who wins and who loses here? For developers, this is a tentative victory. They now have a legal pathway to avoid Apple‘s 15-30% commission by sending users to the web to pay. But here’s the thing: Apple’s already crafted a workaround that charges a 27% fee on those external purchases. It’s a classic “win the battle, lose the war” scenario for many app makers. They get a new payment option, but the financial relief is minimal unless they’re a giant like Epic with the resources to build a whole external ecosystem.
For users, the immediate impact is murky. Will we see lower prices? Maybe, but don’t hold your breath. Apps might get cheaper if developers pass on the savings, or they might just pocket the difference. The bigger change could be a more fragmented payment experience—clicking a link in an app, getting bounced to a website, and then back again. Is that really better? It’s less seamless, for sure. And there are real questions about whether Apple’s famed (and often overstated) privacy and security umbrella extends to these external transactions.
Apple’s Self-Inflicted Wound
Look, the most fascinating part of this saga isn’t the legal ruling—it’s Apple’s strategic failure. The source commentary nails it: this was a self-inflicted injury. Apple mostly won that initial 2021 decision! They could have de-escalated the global regulatory firestorm by voluntarily reducing fees and allowing third-party payments years ago. Had they done that, and leaned hard into their legitimate strengths in user privacy, they might have contained the damage. Instead, they chose pure, short-sighted greed with that 27% “compliance” fee. Now, the dam has broken. The EU’s Digital Markets Act is forcing far more sweeping changes, and other countries are lining up to follow suit. The lasting financial and reputational hit from this global antitrust onslaught will dwarf any revenue they protected by clinging to the old model.
Basically, Apple prioritized squeezing every last percent from developers over long-term ecosystem stability. And now the bill is coming due. I expect their next move will be to argue that some high fee, maybe 25%, is the “reasonable minimum” to run the App Store. But the court of public opinion, and increasingly the courts of law, aren’t buying it. They had a chance to be a hero and chose to be a tax collector. That’s a hard look to shake.
