On closer inspection, the bag begins to look decidedly mixed for the tech giant.The court did not say it is impossible to show that Apple is an illegal monopolist ― only that Epic had failed to do so.The judge also found that, contrary to Apple’s protestations, the App Store’s operating margins, which one of Epic’s expert witnesses put at 75%, are “extraordinarily high”.Most important, Ms González Rogers ruled that although Apple did not violate federal antitrust law, it had engaged in anticompetitive conduct under California’s competition law.It did so by banning developers from including information in their apps that tells users how they can subscribe or buy digital wares outside the App Store.Such “anti-steering” provisions, the judge said, “hide critical information from consumers and illegally stifle consumer choice”.The decision will take effect in 90 days, though Epic has already appealed and Apple may do so, too.The case could end up in America’s Supreme Court.Whatever its final outcome, it will pile more pressure onto Apple to loosen its tight control of the App Store.This could lower its margins and weaken Apple’s services business, which analysts expect to be a big source of growth and profits.
