Apple is in court in the UK, arguing for why it should be allowed to appeal the lawsuit that saw it hit with a $2 billion fine for alleged App Store anti-competitive practices.

The original case was filed in 2021, then finally went to trial in January 2025. In October 2025, the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) found unanimously in favor of the complaint that Apple's App Store pricing is unfair.

Under UK law, Apple cannot immediately appeal the ruling. It must first seek permission from CAT, in what the tribunal's official site describes as a "hearing as to consequential matters."

Apple will be using this court appearance to make its arguments for appealing the case. However, the complainant's team will be pressing for calculating a final sum that Apple should pay.

At time of writing, the court discussion is in recess. It has so far been live streamed, and while it is illegal to record the proceedings, they have been protracted and acrimonious.

Representatives of Dr. Rachael Kent, the original complainant, have been directed to spend the lunch break conferring over how it believes the damages calculation should be done. They are also told to consult over the method of payment, down to how Apple would pay while any appeal was proceeding.

This follows the representatives failing to provide this information the hearing. Apple's lawyer Marie Demetriou KC called it "half-baked" that the complainant's representatives have not decided this detail.

Each of Apple's legal team present in the court has repeatedly complained that their opposition has failed to provide important details. That does include points of order during this present hearing, but Apple also says that it has been pressing for answers to multiple issues and getting no responses.

If that is correct, or if the court accepts that it is correct, then that would presumably help Apple's case. There has already been commentary from the court that Apple has made strong points.

Apple's basis for appeal

Apple has not publicly revealed its arguments for an appeal and only some have come out so far during the court case.

It is likely, however, that the company will repeat arguments that it has made before regarding the accusation that Apple abuses its market dominance. Apple will surely repeat what it must have said during the original trial, that users have alternatives to its devices and App Store.

Previously, the representatives of Dr. Kent persuaded the CAT that Apple's pricing was unjustifiable. The tribunal agreed that Apple's App Store practices eliminated all competition on the iPhone and iPad.

Since the consequential hearing is being held by the same CAT, it's not clear how Apple expects its same arguments to now gain it an appeal.

But under UK law, it must request that appeal at this hearing.

What happens next

While the hearing will resume after the court's lunch, it is not clear yet what will be decided at this session. It may also, again under UK law, be that specific outcomes today are not made public yet.

CAT will rule whether Apple can be allowed to appeal the case, but it is not necessarily required to make that ruling today. The hearing will resume at 9 A.M. Eastern.