Battle Royale... But instead of crossbows, these warriors have briefcases and JDs. Yesterday was Day #1 of the landmark trial over Apple's App Store dominance. The lawsuit was brought by Fortnite-maker Epic Games, and could seriously damage Apple's app-power. It all started in August last year, when...
Bring these lawyers some Advil... Yesterday, Epic argued that Apple has an iPhone app monopoly, and purposely locks customers into its ecosystem. Apple argued that it gets to set the rules for its own App Store, which it says are needed to ensure quality and security. Epic disagrees.
This could be Apple's make-or-break moment... The App Store created an explosion of opportunity (and $$$) for developers... but at a cost. That could change if Apple loses this suit — especially since it's facing other (related) antitrust scrutiny: last month, it got grilled by the Senate over its smartphone ecosystem power, and last week the EU charged it with allegedly abusing its control over music app distribution. CNBC estimates that Apple made $64B last year from the App Store (~30% of its annual revenue). Changes on the app side could cost it big.