Australian court orders Apple to open the iPhone to rival app stores

What happened

Australian court orders Apple to open the iPhone to rival app stores, according to The Next Web. Fortnite is back on the App Store in Australia, Epic Games said on Friday. That came a day after the Federal Court of Australia ordered Apple to let the game return. Apple is a digital distribution and software company based in Cupertino.

Legal Australian court orders Apple to open the iPhone to rival app stores The orders start on 1 March 2027 and ban fees for using rival app stores, like the one Apple charges in Europe. October 25, 2026 - 10:08 am Fortnite is back on the App Store in Australia, Epic Games said on Friday.

https://t.co/7AUJ81BUSy Fortnite (@Fortnite) October 23, 2026 The same ruling forces Apple to let iPhone users in Australia download apps from rival stores and developers’ websites from 1 March 2027. It follows Justice Jonathan Beach’s finding in August 2025 that Apple misused its market power over app distribution and in-app payments.

He declared that Apple had broken Australian competition law since November 2017. “Apple purposefully foreclosed every rival channel for iOS app distribution and installed itself as the sole gateway to iOS users,” Beach wrote.

What Apple has to change Apple must allow rival app stores and direct downloads, as long as each app has passed an automated security and privacy scan. Apple or a qualified third party must also notarise it. Developers using those routes get the same tools and APIs as App Store developers.