In a significant development in the long-running legal battle between Apple and Epic Games, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Apple’s bid to pause proceedings over the commissions it charges developers for sales made outside the App Store. Justice Elena Kagan on Thursday denied Apple’s request for a stay, allowing the lower court to move forward with determining a permissible commission rate while the high court considers a related appeal.
The decision supersedes a temporary pause Kagan had imposed the day before, clearing the way for U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to oversee the rate-setting process. This stems from earlier findings that Apple violated an injunction by imposing restrictive rules and a 27% commission on external “link-out” purchases — transactions where users are directed from an iOS app to complete a purchase on the web or elsewhere.
Background on the Epic v. Apple Fight
The core dispute traces back to Epic’s antitrust challenge against Apple’s App Store practices. Courts previously ruled that Apple’s anti-steering rules limited competition by making it harder for developers to steer users toward alternative payment methods. After Apple implemented a high commission and other barriers, Judge Gonzalez Rogers found the company in contempt in 2025. The Ninth Circuit later upheld the contempt finding but reversed an outright ban on any commissions, directing the lower court to set a rate limited to costs that are “genuinely and reasonably necessary” for coordinating external links.
Apple has been charging zero commission on these external purchases in the U.S. since the contempt ruling, a status that remains in place for now. The Supreme Court has agreed to review the contempt finding itself (with arguments expected in the October 2026 term), but that review will not halt the parallel rate proceedings.
Apple’s Proposed Rates
Following the Supreme Court’s order, Apple submitted its proposal for commissions on linked-out purchases:
• 15% for standard apps (those subject to the usual 30% in-app purchase fee)
• 10% for participants in programs like Video Partner, News Partner, and Mini Apps, as well as subscription renewals
• 5% for Small Business Program apps
Apple maintains these rates are justified to recover costs related to App Store infrastructure, tools, and services. Critics, including Epic, argue that under the Ninth Circuit’s standard—focused narrowly on coordination costs for external links — the justified rate could approach zero. Epic has indicated it will challenge Apple’s proposal with expert analysis.
What’s Next
Epic will have an opportunity to respond (reports suggest around 60 days), followed by further briefing and a hearing before Judge Gonzalez Rogers. The outcome will determine the commission structure governing external purchases for U.S. developers going forward. Meanwhile, Apple continues to prepare its Supreme Court briefing on the contempt issues.
Developers may see lower costs for external sales in the near term, but the final rate — and any broader implications from the Supreme Court — could reshape how commissions work for years to come.
MacDailyNews Take: The whole thing is ludicrous. Again, it’s Apple’s App Store, not Epic’s. Apple has a right to charge developers for use of its App Store.
Apple’s commission (reduced to 15% for most app developers) has always funded the secure infrastructure, rigorous app review process, fraud protection, payment systems, and ongoing platform development that benefit users and honest developers. Epic wanted all the upside of that ecosystem with none of the contribution.
The bottom line is clear: Epic Games wants to enjoy all of the benefits of Apple’s App Store, including access to well over one billion of the world’s most affluent users for free. That is illogical, unfair, and, basically, theft. – MacDailyNews, May 4, 2021
How much did it cost developers to have their apps burned onto CDs, boxed, shipped, displayed on store shelves prior to Apple remaking the world for the better for umpteenth time? Apple incurs costs to store, review, organize, surface, and distribute apps to over one billion users. — MacDailyNews, June 10, 2022
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