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

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.

G’day, Australia. 🇦🇺 We’re back on the App Store. Drop in! 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.

Apple cannot charge fees or set conditions for using those channels. Beach pointed to the Core Technology Fee that Apple charges in the EU, 50 euro cents for each first annual install. He found it was designed to dissuade developers from using alternatives.

Developers can also use their own payment systems and link users to their websites. Apple cannot make them offer its own in-app purchase system as well, or demand reports on those sales.

For digital content sold through other payment systems in App Store apps, Apple’s fee is capped. It cannot exceed what Apple charges on physical goods, which the judge said is nothing today, plus genuine extra costs.

No extra steps, no retaliation

Apple cannot add payment warnings or install steps beyond what the security risk justifies. It also cannot punish developers who use rival stores or payments.

Beach cited Epic’s data from Europe, where Apple cut the steps to install the Epic Games Store. The share of users who gave up then fell from 63% to 24% on iOS 18.6. In the US, a judge reached a similar view on install friction for Google’s Play Store.

“In response to regulatory or judicial constraints imposed in connection with the App Store that are anything other than detailed, prescriptive and precise, Apple has systematically implemented practices that seek to circumvent the practical effects of those constraints,” Beach wrote.

Australia only, and no end date

The orders cover the Australian App Store and Apple accounts set to Australia. Developers anywhere in the world can use them. Beach refused Epic’s request for global orders. He said they could clash with rules already set in the EU, Japan and the US.

Apple asked for the orders to last five years. Beach set no end date, but Apple can ask to change them if the market shifts. It can also apply in early February for two more months, until 3 May 2027.

The Fortnite order did not wait for March. Apple must also pay 85% of Epic’s legal costs for the 2025 trial.

Epic did not get everything. Beach refused to declare Apple’s contract terms void. Apple can also still keep rival stores out of the App Store itself. He also accepted that some warnings before installing an app can serve security.

Apple will appeal

An Apple spokesperson told TechRadar that Apple has no monopoly in Australia or anywhere else. The company will request a stay and appeal.

“We respectfully disagree with many findings in this case, including a market definition that has been rejected by other courts,” the spokesperson said.

Epic chief executive Tim Sweeney welcomed the remedies on X. He said Fortnite would return alongside the Epic Games Store.

The Australian Epic v Apple antitrust remedies were just issued, and are a huge victory for consumers and developers. We are studying the verdict and will share more soon.

The Court has freed Fortnite in Australia and it will return alongside the Epic Games Store…soon. https://t.co/Ib1FIu1z9t

Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) October 22, 2026

Epic confirmed the return a day later and said what comes next. It plans to bring the Epic Games Store to iPhones in Australia once Apple must allow competing stores in March.

Fortnite is back on the App Store in Australia after the Federal Court ordered them to open up iOS devices to competition! Next up: we’ll bring the Epic Games Store to iOS devices in Australia when Apple must allow competing app stores in March 2027.

See more about the changes Apple has to make here: https://t.co/JvARaX3hRO

Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) October 23, 2026

Australia had been the only country left out when Fortnite returned to the App Store in May. Epic explained why in a statement at the time.

“Epic can’t return under an illegal payment arrangement with Apple,” the company said.