Apple forced to change app store rules (allow other stores) in a win for roughly 15 million Australian users
The Federal Court has ordered Apple to open up its devices to other app stores, as part of a landmark finding that the tech giant violated Australian competition law.
It's a fundamental shift for an estimated 15 million Australian Apple users, who will soon be able to download apps from the open web as well as rival app stores as a result.
The company has until March 2027 to make the changes,ย Federal Court Justice Jonathan Beach ruled on Thursday.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-23/fortnite-epic-games-back-in-apple-app-store/107302160Open linkView original on quokk.au
3 replies
If this judgment stands, it is incredible. A world-leading judgment that goes well beyond the ridiculous
halfone-tenth measure that the EU recently imposed on Apple, which at first resulted in Apple cutting their 30% cut of sales down to just 27%, and after some pushback, Apple oh-so graciously agreed to let developers keep 95% of their money for purchases that don't use any Apple infrastructure. This is definitely better than that, because it bans those fees.That said, this is a decision of a single judge of the Federal Court. It will undoubtedly be appealed to the High Court, and who knows how it will end up. A good start, but there's a long way to go before the headline is truly accurate.
So how is this even remotely compatible with Android saying they're only going to let their Android approved apps/developers install to their phones? Surely this decision has aspects to it which can be applied there too.
Guess: As long as you technically allow installation from another source, you are compliant. Doesn't matter if the procedure entails 1 year wait, physically mailing in your id to apple, a butt inspection and mandatory cutting off a finger.