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.
Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari.
More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
Apple is entering its most significant leadership transition in more than a decade as multiple senior executives prepare to depart and CEO Tim Cook begins to shape the company's next generation of leaders, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Jeff Williams, who was viewed as Cook's potential successor for several...
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Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month.
Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe.
iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update.
Below, we have highlighted eight ...
Monday October 6, 2025 11:56 am PDT by Juli Clover
With the second beta of iOS 26.1, Apple updated the design of alarms set on the iPhone, making them harder to dismiss than before.
Stopping an alarm in iOS 26.1 beta 2 requires a new Slide to Stop gesture rather than a simple tap. You can continue to tap to snooze an alarm, but if you want to turn it off entirely, you need to use a swipe.
Transitioning from a tap to a slide gesture to...
Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain.
There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
Monday October 6, 2025 5:05 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
A new iPad mini is "absolutely" on the way, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released a year ago?
Processor and Performance
Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code that Apple mistakenly shared in...
After launching new iPhones last month, Apple is promoting iCloud+ with a prominent banner on its home page, in a bid to boost its services revenue. In addition to more storage, all iCloud+ plans include five perks for iPhone users.
As a refresher, iCloud includes 5GB of storage for free. If you want extra storage, you need to subscribe to an iCloud+ plan. In the United States, prices range...
Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor.
Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.1 and iPadOS 26.1, introducing useful changes to alarms, multitasking on the iPad, and more. There are also subtle tweaks to some of the Liquid Glass design elements as Apple continues to refine iOS 26.
Alarms and Timers
Alarms set using the Clock app now have a slide to stop button rather than a tap to stop button on the Lock Screen. To snooze an...
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.
