Key takeaways
- Australia’s Federal Court ordered Apple to allow rival app stores, app downloads from websites and alternative payments for Australian users from March 1, 2027. Apple cannot charge commission on payments made outside its system, and App Store fees must fall to the level charged for physical goods.
- Fortnite returns to the Australian App Store on October 22. Apple says it will ask for a stay and appeal. The court rejected Epic’s request to apply the rules worldwide and let Apple keep security checks for outside apps.
- My view: this is not fair to Apple. Epic agreed to the rules, broke them on purpose and then hid behind the law. I won’t download anything from these stores, and I hope Apple wins the appeal.
Apple has lost another round against Epic Games, this time in Australia. On October 21, Justice Jonathan Beach of the Federal Court of Australia issued a 235-page decision ordering Apple to open the iPhone for users with an Australian Apple Account. From March 1, 2027, they must be able to install apps from rival marketplaces and directly from websites. Developers can use their own payment systems, even inside App Store apps, and link to cheaper prices elsewhere. Apple cannot charge any commission on payments made outside its system, cannot require reports on those transactions, and App Store fees must be limited to what Apple would charge for physical goods, plus genuine extra costs. Apple can ask to move the deadline to May 3, 2027.
Apple did win a few points. The court rejected Epic’s request to extend the rules worldwide, Apple can keep automated security scanning and notarization for apps installed from outside, and it does not have to distribute rival stores through its own App Store. But Apple must pay 85% of Epic’s legal costs from the original trial, and Fortnite returns to the Australian App Store on October 22, after being removed in 2020. Apple says it “will request a stay and appeal the outcome,” citing its intellectual property and the safety of the App Store. Epic called the ruling “great news for developers worldwide and iOS users in Australia.”
In this article: Not fair to Apple · They want the iPhone, not the rules · A win for users? No · Security or commission? · Epic agreed to the rules, then broke them · The whole world wants to break it · Did Tim Sweeney win? · Will prices go down? · FAQ
Not fair to Apple
I think this is not fair to Apple. I know that now I will get a beating from the people who say Apple is greedy. But look at it from the other side.
I am convinced that the App Store is much safer than the Google Play Store that runs on Android. Apple itself says the App Store stopped more than $9 billion in fraudulent transactions over five years. So maybe it is time to look at things soberly. It is not only that Apple is greedy. Apple has its own rules and wants to live from them.
Apple doesn’t keep the App Store just for nothing. It is a business, and Apple has to take care mainly of the part where its biggest profit is. That is exactly why the App Store is so convenient and so safe: Apple invests in it, because it lives from it. Take its commission away, and why should it keep investing so much?
| What changes in Australia | Until now | From March 1, 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Where you get apps | Only the App Store | App Store, rival stores and websites |
| Payments | Apple’s in-app purchase | Any payment system, links to the web allowed |
| Commission on outside payments | Not allowed to pay outside | None |
| App Store fees | Up to 30% | Capped at the level for physical goods plus real costs |
| Security checks for outside apps | – | Automated scan and notarization stay |
They want the iPhone, not the rules
Then a company comes along that doesn’t want to share its profit and wants people to pay it directly. But at the same time, it wants its app installed on iOS, because it knows that most of the people who are able to pay are there.
Yes, Apple has a big weight on the market in Australia. But why should a company that develops some of the best things on the market right now have to play by the rules of developers? This is my store, we have rules, and we want to make money when a game or an app is downloaded from the App Store and paid through Apple. How are we supposed to understand this?
I have a feeling that the more successful a company is, the more leeches show up that want to pull as much money out of it as they can. That is my view of this whole farce.
A win for users? No
Is this a win for users? No, it is not. I bet you will save maybe a few dollars on it. But you will have to download somewhere else, and it will no longer be Apple who decides about quality and privacy, the way it has until now. On the other side, these companies will get huge income from it.
Would I download an app from a website or another store instead of the App Store? No. I am so used to downloading everything through the App Store, and it gives me comfort and, in most cases, certainty. When I download from the App Store, the app has definitely gone through some kind of check, and I feel safer with my data and my privacy.
Security or commission?
Apple will appeal. Is it defending security or its commission? Here is where we should be fair. The court left Apple the security checks. So Apple invests in what apps we download, it pays for all of it and prepares everything for us. But the commission is the part nobody wants to share with Apple.
That is not fair. I don’t like these greedy companies like Epic Games, and the others that tolerate it. If Apple doesn’t get a commission, why should it protect our security at all? Why should it do that work for free? I know it is not completely free. But Apple set its rules from the start, so why not keep them?
Apple does well to appeal, and I wish it wins. So much effort went into this, and then someone comes and sweeps everything off the table.
Epic agreed to the rules, then broke them
The court decided under Australian competition law, not under the contract. But that is exactly what bothers me. Developers agree to Apple’s rules. Apple has it written right in its terms how those who put apps on the App Store must behave. In 2020, Epic broke those rules on purpose by adding its own payments to Fortnite. Then its app was deleted, and it started defending itself with the law, after it had ignored the agreement itself.
The law is used in a very strange way here, and that fascinates me the most. As I see it, the law does not always look at the rules. I don’t believe a court should stand on the side of the one who went around rules it agreed to.
The whole world wants to break it
The EU, Japan, Brazil and now Australia. Is the iPhone as a closed system finished? What fascinates me the most is that the whole world is trying to break that closed system, when it is exactly our security. And then companies show up that just want to destroy it because of their own commissions.
I will definitely not download anything, especially from these companies, and I won’t support them. In my opinion, supporting them only encourages them to attack the App Store again. No. Hard no. We have to protect it for our own good.
Did Tim Sweeney win?
Fortnite is coming back after six years. Did Tim Sweeney win? Above all, I hope Apple stays Apple, because I don’t see this trend as a good one. Apple is a company that has its own rules. Some Fortnite should not dictate its rules to another company, and at the same time want that company to let its games run on its gadgets.
Will prices go down?
Will apps and subscriptions get cheaper when Apple doesn’t get its 30%? I don’t know, but I don’t think so. And Apple won’t make a charity out of itself, and I support that. When the EU forced Apple to open the iPhone, Apple came up with new fees, like its Core Technology Fee per install. Australia now bans commissions on outside payments directly, so we will see what Apple comes up with this time.
Also on Evolt News: Apple’s lobbying in the EU · China protests the US DeepSeek ban
Photo: Shkuru Afshar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
This article is opinion.
Apple and Epic in Australia: FAQ
What did the Australian court order Apple to do?
The Federal Court of Australia ordered Apple to let Australian users install apps from rival app stores and websites, allow alternative payment systems and links, stop charging commission on payments outside its system, and limit App Store fees, starting March 1, 2027.
When do the Australian App Store changes take effect?
The changes take effect at noon Melbourne time on March 1, 2027. Apple can apply between February 1 and 15, 2027, for an extension to May 3, 2027.
Is Fortnite back on the App Store in Australia?
Yes. Epic Games said Fortnite returns to the Australian App Store on October 22, 2026, after the court ordered Apple to accept eligible Epic apps. Australia was the only country left out when Fortnite returned to the App Store in May.
Will Apple appeal the Australian ruling?
Yes. Apple said it will request a stay and appeal the outcome, citing its intellectual property and the safety and security of the App Store.
Does the ruling apply outside Australia?
No. The court rejected Epic’s request to extend the injunctions worldwide. The rules apply to users with an Australian Apple Account, though developers anywhere can take part.
Sources: Federal Court of Australia, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, Reuters, Apple Newsroom.
Our Take
Australia’s Federal Court forced Apple to open the iPhone to rival app stores and outside payments, with no commission, from March 2027, and Fortnite is back today. For me, this is not a win for users. Epic agreed to the rules, broke them on purpose and then hid behind the law.
Apple built the safest store on the market and has every right to live from it. I hope it wins the appeal, and I won’t download anything from these stores.
