The Epic vs. Apple antitrust trial has entered its final stretch, closing out with a big moment for Apple’s side of the case as CEO Tim Cook took to the stand to provide his testimony.
Cook’s arrival to the stand followed testimony from a witness brought by Epic Games who calculated that the App Store saw a 78% profit margin in 2019. When asked about how much profit Apple gets from the App Store, Cook was mum on hard numbers but said that he believes in-app purchases drives the bulk of App Store revenue, a vague response due to the fact that Apple doesn’t calculate profit or revenue on a division-by-division basis. “I have a feel, if you will,” said Cook.
Both sides of the case have since made their closing arguments, with Apple arguing that Epic is “talking out of both sides of its mouth on this [case], when the impact, the results and the way this will play out, the impracticalities, are plain and are simple” while also saying the App Store’s model is already protected by law.
“The law protects technological incompatibility as pro-competitive. That is how consumers are given a choice. Apple’s business model was developed long before it had anything that anyone planned as market power, it served its customers and developers well, and Epic is now attempting to [change this] without any… guidances as to what the impact of that attack would be.”
Epic’s closing arguments, meanwhile, stated that their efforts are “of necessity” for the wider app development world, while also attempting to counter Apple’s argument that what it’s doing is already protected and should be left alone.
“You have them pretending to be a benevolent overlord and saying ‘We don’t think anybody should compete, we’re trying to do a good job.’ But the point is you have to compare, you have to decide whether what they’re doing is what it would be in the face of competition.”
The decision now falls on Judge Yvonne Gonzales-Rogers, who stated that she will provide a written ruling but doing so will take some time due to the massive amount of testimony and material provided in the case. For now, all anyone can do is wait and watch. For all of our previous coverage, make sure to check the links below.
