Epic Games today filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court, which basically means the company is asking the Supreme Court to make a ruling in its ongoing legal battle with Apple.
The Supreme Court is the last stop for Epic Games after it lost an appeal earlier this year. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2023 sided with the lower court and ruled that Apple's App Store rules do not violate antitrust law by not allowing for third-party marketplaces.
Since 2020, Epic has been pushing for a ruling that would allow it to skirt the App Store and offer apps directly to consumers through sideloading or an alternate store, but its legal arguments have not been successful. Epic ultimately wants to sell digital skins and other goods to its Fortnite customers without having to give Apple a 30 percent cut of its proceeds.
Epic also offers digital goods--such as outfits--that users can purchase for use within Fortnite. Epic has invested vast sums in developing not just Fortnite but those digital add-ons, to which Apple contributes nothing. But Apple required Epic to use its IAP and pay the 30% commission on every in-app purchase that any iPhone user made directly from Epic, no matter how many years after downloading Fortnite from the App Store.
Epic's 488 page filing lists several reasons why the Supreme Court should hear the case, focusing on errors made by the lower courts and the significance of the case, as any major App Store change would impact hundreds of thousands of developers.
The Supreme Court could opt not to hear Epic's case, and it only accepts a fraction of the cases that it is asked to review each year.
When the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made its decision, it upheld the ruling of the lower court, including the mandate that Apple allow developers to direct customers to purchase options outside of the App Store. Apple does not want to make these App Store changes, and so it too may ask the Supreme Court to make a ruling on that portion of the case.
Apple back in in July was given 90 days after the appeals court ruling to decide whether it would petition the Supreme Court. Apple has not yet contacted the Supreme Court, nor has it hit that 90 day limit. When the 90-day limit expires, Apple will either need to ask the Supreme Court to hear the case or implement the App Store changes that it has been ordered to make.
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost.
The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month.
In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April.
Priority Notifications
If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports...
Thursday March 20, 2025 2:04 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the first iOS 19 beta is still more than two months away, there are already plenty of rumors about the upcoming software update.
Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors so far.
visionOS-Like Design
In January, the YouTube channel Front Page Tech revealed a redesigned Camera app that is allegedly planned for iOS 19.
According to Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser, the Camera app...
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the fourth betas.
iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update.
With iOS 18.4, Apple is adding the Priority Notifications...
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4.
For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3, and Apple's own Advanced Audio Codec...
Apple will launch its long-rumored foldable iPhone next year with a ~$2,000 premium price tag attached, expects well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.
Gurman's comments on Apple's launch plans for its first foldable device appeared in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter. Earlier this month, the reporter said Apple's foldable iPhone could be arriving "as early as 2026,"...
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Apple is planning "one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company's history" – an update that aims to bring iOS, iPadOS, and macOS into closer visual alignment. The redesign is said to be "loosely based" on visionOS, the software behind Apple's Vision Pro headset, and will reportedly update the look of icons, menus, apps, windows, and...
Good luck with that. Tim Sweeney acted in bad faith, planting a trojan horse in his software, knowingly breaking the App Store rules, lost in court, lost his appeal and now wants to waste the Supreme Court's time? They'll toss this with due haste.
Epic ultimately wants to sell digital skins and other goods to its Fortnite customers without having to give Apple a 30 percent cut of its proceeds.
When asked if they’re fine with giving Nintendo and Sony their cut of its proceeds, the spokesperson scurried away into the night emitting a high pitched screech. Then exploded in the distance.