Epic v. Apple: Apple says it received just 38 applications to use its outside payments option for the App Store, out of ~65K app devs that offer in-app payments
Bloomberg : X: @balancecrafting , @megangra , @jason_kint , @balancecrafting , @jason_kint , @jason_kint , @balancecrafting , @balancecrafting , @balancecrafting , @jason_kint , @florian4gamers , @florian4gamers , @balancecrafting , @balancecrafting , and @matthewstoller X: @balancecrafting : Roman assumes substantial majority of devs would adopt link entitlement program. Epic: “You assumed that adoption would remain constant regardless of the fee”? Roman: “That is correct.” Epic: “You did not assume that a high fee would deter adoption?” Roman: “That is correct.” Megan Gray / @megangra : This should be mandatory listening for all government enforcers in BigTech cases/investigations. This is how you hold people to account, taking nothing for granted, scrutinize everything, being sceptical but respectful, giving no quarter. Jason Kint / @jason_kint : Did I just hear Apple testify that they charge 15% of monopoly rent for recurring subscriptions rather than the 30% for the initial sale because it's half the amount? Do they appreciate every percent is journalists in newsrooms? @balancecrafting : Yup, not working. Judge interrupts direct: “You're telling me that of the thousand people were involved [in pricing committee process], and not a single person said we should consider the cost of [payment processing] to a developer”? Jason Kint / @jason_kint : Apple's antitrust compliance theater underway. It's new program allowing apps to use third party payment processors has 38 developers? And Apple said “a large number” applied. /3 Jason Kint / @jason_kint : Hearing #2 of 3 is live and way more enjoyment than I could imagine late on Friday. Witness is Alex Roman (VP, Finance, Apple), female voice is Court, other voice is plaintiff counsel. Colonoscopy of ios App Store pricing. # below. “Mr Oliver” will be testifying next week. 😂 /1 @balancecrafting : Judge YGR: “It sounds to me as if the goal was to maintain the business model and revenue that you had in the past, right? Finding out a different way to keep your revenue stream?” @balancecrafting : So far, this is a lot of math on hidden slides. 🙈📊 Sounds like it's going as well as Day 1 though. Epic counsel: “You did no studies? That is another assumption your team essentially made up?” Roman: “That is correct.” @balancecrafting : Even on direct, Roman is super vague. Apple counsel asks him how the 30% rate was set. Answer is again, like, we had a discussion internally. 🧑🤝🧑🤼 Jason Kint / @jason_kint : “If Apple is trying to maintain its revenue then the higher the commission number then the higher the revenue number.” “That is correct your honor.” /2 Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : I'm following the 2nd part of the Epic v. Apple injunction hearing. The judge and Epic put a lot of pressure on Apple Finance VP Alex Roman. But I'm not sure it's productive: they focus on whether developers make money with the first sale after a user clicks on an external... Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : Yes, that external payment option isn't really popular now, and to the district court and Epic it is a sign of Apple being out of compliance. But in the appeals court it will be a different ball game: the question will be compliance, not whether there is much of a market impact. @balancecrafting : Epic v Apple sanctions roast is back live now. 🍿🍿 Resuming with Alex Roman ("a" not “the” VP of Finance at Apple). When last we left off, he had been reprimanded that he is under oath. Can he recover in the 2nd half? Zoom: https://cand-uscourts.zoomgov.com/ ... Phone: (669) 254-5252 @balancecrafting : For the billionth time, Roman says decisions were “discussed with the business team and the legal team” Judge YGR snaps: “I'll hear from them later. You tell me what you discussed with them” Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller : Turns out Tim Cook personally approved Apple's malicious compliance with Judge Rogers order on the app store.
Context & Ripple Effects
The evidence comes from the long-running Epic dispute after a 2023 appeals ruling that largely upheld the earlier decision and amid disagreement over what the injunction required for external payments. A 2021 reading of the injunction had already highlighted the distinction between permitting payment links and permitting usable alternative payment methods.
The 38 applications reported by Apple give the court a concrete measure of uptake for its link-entitlement program. Roman's testimony also puts the program's fee structure at the center of whether low participation reflects developer preference or the practical economics of the option.
First-order effects
- Apple can point to extremely limited applications among developers offering in-app payments, while Epic can use Roman's assumptions about fee-insensitive adoption to challenge Apple's rationale for the program.
- Developers considering external-payment links face the stated fee structure, including a lower rate for recurring subscriptions than for an initial in-app sale.
Second-order effects
- The evidence shifts the remedy debate from whether Apple technically offered an external-payment path to whether its terms make that path commercially viable for developers.
- If courts view fees as suppressing adoption, Apple faces pressure to justify or revise the economics of external-payment linking rather than relying on formal availability alone.
Third-order effects
- The case tests whether platform remedies can create meaningful payment competition when the gatekeeper retains control over fees and the customer path; the answer may shape how future app-store obligations are evaluated.
- Sustained scrutiny of adoption and fee design could push enforcement toward outcome-based tests of compliance, though a single program's application count does not by itself establish the cause of low use.
The trend: App-store regulation is increasingly focused on whether alternative-payment remedies work in practice, not merely whether platforms provide a nominal route to them.