Apple asks court to halt App Store rule changes while it appeals

Apple asked a judge to halt an order forcing it to give up control over App Store payments while it appeals the decision. In a filing on Wednesday, Apple says the order contains “extraordinary intrusions” that could result in “grave irreparable harm” to the company.

Last week, California District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found that Apple was in “willful violation” of a 2021 injunction issued as part of the Epic Games v. Apple case. As a result, the judge ordered Apple to stop collecting an up to 27 percent commission on purchases made outside the App Store, and said the company can no longer restrict how developers point users toward external purchases.

Apple has since complied with the order, allowing apps like Kindle, Patreon, Spotify, and Delta’s emulator to link iPhone users to external purchases without an added fee or restrictions. However, Apple filed an appeal on Monday, and now it wants its control of the App Store back while it waits for a decision.

“Depriving Apple of control over core features of the App Store is, standing alone, sufficient to warrant a stay,” Apple says in its motion to halt the order. “The new rules profoundly undercut the integrated iOS ecosystem that this Court sustained as lawful and that is the foundation of user trust and confidence in the App Store.”

In a post on X, Epic Games said Apple’s motion to stay “is a last ditch effort to block competition and extract massive junk fees at the expense of consumers and developers.”

Update, May 8th: Added a statement from Epic Games.