Australian court orders Apple to let iPhones use other app stores

A federal judge in Australia has ordered Apple to let iPhone users there install apps from other app stores and from websites. The order starts March 1, 2027. Apple has confirmed it plans to appeal. The decision comes from a years-long legal fight with Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite.

What changed

The order covers iPhone users with Australian Apple Accounts. Today, apps on an iPhone generally come through Apple's App Store. Under the order, people with those accounts could also get apps from competing stores or directly from a developer's website.

The court also barred Apple from forcing developers to report sales made through other payment providers. Apple cannot make developers offer Apple's payment system next to their own choice, either. Apple has imposed both rules in other places, including Brazil and Japan.

Why the judge ruled this way

Justice Jonathan Beach said Apple holds "a substantial degree of power" over how iPhone apps are distributed and how in-app payments are handled. He found Apple used its developer agreements and App Store guidelines to limit competition. This follows a ruling last year that Apple broke Australian competition law.

The judge also pointed to what happened to Epic in 2020. Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and closed Epic's developer account. He called those actions "a paradigm example" of Apple enforcing restrictive terms.

What Apple still controls

Apple won a few points. Their effect is that the changes stay narrower than Epic wanted.

• The court refused Epic's request to apply the orders worldwide.
• Apple may keep security scanning and notarization checks for apps installed outside the App Store.
• Apple does not have to offer rival app stores through its own App Store.

What happens next

Apple has until February 15 to ask the court for a delay until May 3, 2027. The court would have to approve it. Apple also plans to appeal, so the timeline could change.

Apple must also pay 85% of Epic's legal costs through the original trial. The court has not yet decided costs for the later hearings. Epic said Fortnite is coming back to the App Store in Australia tomorrow.

For iPhone owners in Australia, the likely result is more choice in where apps come from and how they are paid for. It also means more decisions about which sources to trust. Details of how this will look on a phone have not been shared.