Did Epic win? Apple will have to open the iPhone ecosystem and Fortnite could return to iOS, says report

Some time ago, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple with the aim of bringing the Epic Games Store to iOS and saving the commission that the iPhone company received for each transaction Fortnite made in its ecosystem. While Epic Games arguably lost that battle, it looks like they won the war in the end. The above since Apple will do exactly what they were looking for.

According to information from Bloomberg, it will be with the arrival of iOS 17 when Apple allows iPhone owners to load and install applications outside the App Store. With this, developers will have another way to offer applications and at the same time save the 15% or 30% commission that Apple receives for each transaction in the App Store.

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But why the hell is Apple allowing this if it fought hard with Epic Games not to do it? Well, while Apple did pick up a temporary victory in the US, it seems the case caught the attention of European regulators. This is why on November 1, 2022, the European Union Digital Markets Act came into force and it indicates that companies like Apple have to open their services and platforms to other companies and developers.

So, in order to meet this requirement and continue to operate in the European Union without problems, Apple will allow users to upload external applications to the App Store on their phone. This will mean that the company will no longer have complete control over what reaches its devices, which will open the door to return from Fortnite to the iOS ecosystem.

iOS 17 is expected to arrive at some point in the next few months.

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Of course, it should be noted that Apple found a way to meet this requirement without having so many losses. We say this since previous reports suggest that it is considering implementing a verification system for which it will charge a fee. With this, they would give users a guarantee that the applications are safe to install on the iPhone and they would earn money for each App that wants to reach their system.

An important point is that it is still not clear if this system will reach the whole world or if we will only see it in Europe, the region in which the legislation that affects Apple is in force. That being said, there are countries like the United States that are considering taking similar measures, so it would be a matter of time before it happens.

It is also worth reminding you that this information has not been confirmed by Apple. So, we recommend taking it with a grain of salt even though it comes from a good source. We will be on the lookout and will inform you when we know more about it.

And you, what did you think of this news? Do you think this will result in a benefit for consumers? Tell us in the comments.

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