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This is such a genius move by Epic / Tim Sweeney. Apple's case hinges on them being consistent with all developers - no special treatment. Apple even says as mu

This is such a genius move by Epic / Tim Sweeney. Apple's case hinges on them being consistent with all developers - no special treatment. Apple even says as much in their filing to the court: "On July 10, Apple responded that "Apple has never allowed this... we strongly believe these rules are vital to the health of the Apple platform and carry enormous benefits for both consumers and developers."" Except, Apple does allow it. For the WeChat app from China's Tencent: CNET (2019): WeChat messaging app brings its own 'instant apps' storefront to iPhones and iPads "This is a big deal because WeChat's catalog contains over one million apps, separately from the iOS App Store. Ordinarily, Apple would strictly prohibit such a practice -- for security reasons at least, if not for platform cohesion -- but if a western company wants to do business in China, concessions must be made." https://download.cnet.com/news/wechat-messaging-app-brings-its-own-instant-apps-storefront-to-iphones-and-ipads/ https://download.cnet.com/news/wechat-messaging-app-brings-i... The former head of App Review for Apple, Phillip Shoemaker, even said this week "WeChat's continued presence on iPhones amounts to a special exception": Apple lets China's WeChat bypass its rules, former app review chief claims https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2020/08/15/apple-chinas-wechat-bypass-rules-former-app-review-chief-claims/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2020/08/15/apple-chin... If we've reached the point that former Apple executives could be testifying on behalf of Epic... wow, this got really interesting really quickly.

glouwbug 6y ago
I mean, Fornite pulling China into this has got to backfire though, right? China is a huge profit center, and apple plays China's game because, well, money. It's like ratting out your older brother and getting beat up in the backyard the next day
- Kednicma 6y ago
  No, typically this sort of legal argument goes through because the exception exists; it doesn't matter exactly what the nature of the exception is. Epic's got a solid point: Either Apple does or does not grant exceptions, and this is an example of an exception which Apple granted.
  - MayeulC 6y ago
    Would Apple itself qualifies as an exception? That could play a role in the antitrust case.
Despegar 6y ago
Apple's case does not "hinge" on being consistent with all app developers. Every app that Apple distributes could in theory be the result of a one-on-one negotiation.
- mthoms 6y ago
  >Apple's case does not "hinge" on being consistent with all app developers. Maybe not legally. But the court of public opinion is much more fickle.
mthoms 6y ago
Also notable, from Apple's filing is this tidbit (emphasis mine): >Over time, in part because of the opportunities Apple made available, Epic grew 9 to a multi-billion dollar enterprise with large investors like the Chinese tech giant Tencent pouring 10 hundreds of millions of dollars into the company. Why did Apple even mention the "Chinese" connection to Epic? It's not relevant to the case in any way, shape, or form. This reads to me personally as a shameless attempt to capitalize on current anti-China sentiment. It sounds almost Trumpian in the way it attempts to disparage their opponent, without actually saying anything meaningful.
bobwernstein 6y ago
And Amazon

glouwbug 6y ago

I mean, Fornite pulling China into this has got to backfire though, right? China is a huge profit center, and apple plays China's game because, well, money. It's like ratting out your older brother and getting beat up in the backyard the next day

Kednicma 6y ago
No, typically this sort of legal argument goes through because the exception exists; it doesn't matter exactly what the nature of the exception is. Epic's got a solid point: Either Apple does or does not grant exceptions, and this is an example of an exception which Apple granted.
- MayeulC 6y ago
  Would Apple itself qualifies as an exception? That could play a role in the antitrust case.

Despegar 6y ago

Apple's case does not "hinge" on being consistent with all app developers. Every app that Apple distributes could in theory be the result of a one-on-one negotiation.

mthoms 6y ago
>Apple's case does not "hinge" on being consistent with all app developers. Maybe not legally. But the court of public opinion is much more fickle.

mthoms 6y ago

Also notable, from Apple's filing is this tidbit (emphasis mine): >Over time, in part because of the opportunities Apple made available, Epic grew 9 to a multi-billion dollar enterprise with large investors like the Chinese tech giant Tencent pouring 10 hundreds of millions of dollars into the company. Why did Apple even mention the "Chinese" connection to Epic? It's not relevant to the case in any way, shape, or form. This reads to me personally as a shameless attempt to capitalize on current anti-China sentiment. It sounds almost Trumpian in the way it attempts to disparage their opponent, without actually saying anything meaningful.

bobwernstein 6y ago

And Amazon