The first week of the most anticipated test in the tech sector has just ended: Epic Games vs. Apple. This trial will define the future of Apple’s App Store, whether it’s continuing as is so far or opening it up to major changes. We have witnessed secrets, unseen figures and negotiations at the highest level that have taken place in recent years.
The Epic lawsuit against Apple, Monday to Friday
Opening Monday: Epic and Apple Arguments
On the same Monday that the trial began in the courtroom of Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, Epic and Apple presented their main arguments. Thus, we learned that the applicant oriented its strategy around the idea of the “fenced garden” which developers and users have a hard time getting out of. By adding new services, functions and APIs, those in Cupertino have made it very difficult for them to abandon their platforms.
Additionally, Epic has targeted high margins, 30% commission, el sistema IAP and macOS security as targets to beat the App Store. Its intention is to show that Apple’s digital store started out with monopoly and anti-competitive premises.
In its defense, Apple argued the effectiveness of the App Store by keeping the malware
But the bulk of their argument centers on how a 30% commission is common practice before and after the App Store. In addition, this indicates that Fortnite is a cross-platform game where users and revenue generated on iOS are only a fraction of the total. Consoles like Xbox and PlayStation account for almost 75% of revenue, so the App Store cannot be considered a monopoly.
Tuesday: the exclusive deal Sweeney requested from Apple
Part of Epic’s argument is that the app store is an unfair place for developers doing business there. On the second day of the trial, the prosecution attorney asked Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney the following:
Question: If Apple had offered you a deal but the other developers didn’t, would you have accepted it?
Answer: Yes, I would have.
Epic has repeatedly announced that their fight against Apple is in favor of all developers. However, his words in the judgment indicate the opposite. A deal of this nature would have broken the equality of opportunity that Apple says guarantees the rules of the App Store.
Out of curiosity, Sweeney admitted to Apple lawyers using an iPhone as a personal device. And he claimed he did so because of the special attention paid to the privacy and security of the terminal.
Wednesday: Apple negotiates with Netflix the reserved functions to avoid abandonment
The highlight of Day 3 of Epic’s lawsuit against Apple was learning the story of Netflix’s departure from the IAP. It happened at the end of 2018But in recent months, Apple has been courting the leading company in Diffusion audiovisual to change your mind. Neither the Outstanding Publishers, the Bundles, and the Video Partner Program were enough.
For Netflix, in addition to the commission percentage, there was an issue with how Apple handles subscriptions for the user. The emails suggest that Reed Hastings’ company I have seen a higher rate of voluntary layoffs. And the reason was that it’s easier to unsubscribe from a phone setting than it is from the web. Transparency that made unsubscribing easier.
Thursday: the App Store is a disaster
Throughout Thursday, Epic deployed its heavy artillery to paint the App Store like hell. For developers and users. And for that, he spared no effort, using conversations between leaders at different points in the life of the App Store.
Among their arguments, they point to APIs that can only use devs
Friday: the app evaluation process unveiled
On the last day of the week, we saw how the app store app review process works. By Trystan Kosmynka we learned how nearly five million apps are submitted to the App Store per year to start distribution. Their rejection rate is less than 40%, of which some 215,000 have broken App Store rules in one way or another.
The Internals of App Review Tests – Quite Fascinating! It looks like they create a trust score of your app based on a list of binary criteria and metadata and then look at what has changed between versions. pic.twitter.com/l8hNZ8X0Do
– Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) May 7, 2021
Applications are dynamically and statically analyzed to filter them. A comparison is also made to see if they are clones of another application or if they are fraudulent. For a manual review, Apple has more than 500 people that manually rate around 100,000 apps each week (most are app updates that have already been approved). And they do it with all the Apple equipment at their disposal.
After this week of presentation of the arguments by Epic Games, it is the turn of the experts. During this week, the two companies they will call those who believe they can strengthen their arguments and judgment strategy. Finally, next week, it will be Apple’s turn, where it will call its witnesses and outline its line of defense.
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