Apple will have to comply with previous mandates as it takes its fight with Epic Games back to the Supreme Court, so expect App Store changes soon.
The Apple vs Epic saga is years long and could easily fill a book at this point, but it hasn't ended yet. The latest update comes after Apple won a stay against enforcing App Store changes as it appealed the Supreme Court.
That stay was short-lived, as Epic immediately appealed the stay and 9to5Mac shared that it has won. The US Ninth Circuit Court has reversed the stay it placed on enforcing a mandate that would require Apple to change how it charges developers for external purchases.
Basically, Apple won on every count in the Epic lawsuit except one. It was ordered to end its anti-steering rules and allow external purchases.
Apple complied, but its new setup for external commissions was constructed in a way that wouldn't make it worthwhile for developers to adopt. Apple was found in contempt of the order, and an injunction was filed to force Apple to allow external purchases with zero commission.
The injunction was appealed again and again, and eventually an agreement was reached that Apple should be allowed to charge a commission, just not 27%. A later ruling said that Apple and Epic must decide on what would be acceptable, but that hasn't happened yet.
Apple was taking the case to the Supreme Court again and requested that the negotiations over a new fee and more App Store changes be stayed. It argued that there would be no need for lower court involvement until the Supreme Court appeal was done, and that stay was granted.
Epic appealed that stay order, and that's where we are today. Even as Apple appeals to the Supreme Court, it will have to go back to the lower courts and work out the new commission structure.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney took to social media to celebrate.
Apple's delaying tactics have come to an end! Now Epic v Apple returns to Judge Gonzales Rogers for hearings on exactly what fees Apple can charge to recoup costs of reviewing apps using competing payment methods. https://t.co/eukYzpu0dY
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 29, 2026
That's quite the fall from wanting free and open access to the App Store user base. Even as Epic "wins," Apple still gets to collect its dues.
Apple has the power to end this
Given that the case was refused at the Supreme Court already, it doesn't seem like things will go Apple's way. The company may not be able to charge as much as it wants, but at least the courts have agreed it is owed something.
All of these regulatory cases around the world can't be avoided when you're as big as Apple. However, I fully believe that Apple could reduce the pain if it wanted to.
It is well within Apple's power and resources to come up with a new App Store commission system that would still earn it plenty of money, that governments would approve of, and only a few developers might sneer at. Epic will never be satisfied short of running Apple's App Store itself for all of the profit, but others would be happy with more revenue.
This ongoing epic began in 2020 with Epic purposefully violating App Store policy so it could goad Apple into a lawsuit. The entire campaign was pitched as Epic taking on big bad Apple and even came with a 1984-style advert.
Like with Spotify and other giants that take on Apple, it's about maximizing their bottom line while leeching off of Apple's user base. Users might benefit in the long run, but Epic has paid more than a billion dollars for what could be considered rather small victories.
