Apple Accused of Keeping iOS Developers Trapped, and the New Lawsuit Is Built on the Epic Games Fallout
By Steve Levine
Published: January 12, 2026
A fresh class action complaint says Apple used fees, design rules, and warning screens to protect App Store commissions, even after a court ordered the company to stop.
Apple is facing a new class action lawsuit from iOS app developers who say the App Store is not just a marketplace. According to the complaint, it functions more like a toll road with no real exit.
The case was filed in federal court in Northern California by a group that includes Korean publishing associations, a U.S. indie game developer, and a Korean game developer. Their claim is straightforward. For years, Apple allegedly maintained a monopoly over iOS app distribution and in app digital payments, then charged commissions that could reach 30 percent.
When courts pressured Apple to loosen its grip, the plaintiffs say Apple responded by redesigning the rules in a way that preserved the same revenue stream.
This is not a settlement. There is no payout. No claim form. No consumer refund. It is a developer case, and it is aimed at the system itself.
The Basic Allegation
According to the complaint, Apple’s power comes from the structure of iOS itself. If you want to sell iOS apps or digital subscriptions to iPhone and iPad users, you historically had to do it on Apple’s terms.The lawsuit argues those terms were not just restrictive. They were intentionally designed to block competition.
Distribution had to run through Apple’s App Store.
Digital goods and subscriptions had to use Apple’s in app purchase system.
Developers allegedly could not steer users toward alternative payment methods.
Apple allegedly collected commissions that stayed unusually stable over time, even as the market matured.
The plaintiffs frame that stability as the point. In a competitive market, pricing moves. In a locked ecosystem, pricing can stay rigid.
Why Epic Games Is the Backbone of This Case
If this story feels familiar, it is because it is built on top of the Epic Games litigation.The complaint focuses heavily on what happened after the first Epic injunction, which was meant to stop Apple from blocking developers who wanted to tell users about other ways to pay.
According to the lawsuit, Apple’s compliance response was designed to look permissive while remaining punishing in practice.
The complaint points to tactics such as a 27 percent fee on certain purchases that occur after a user clicks out of an app, rules limiting how external links can look and where they can appear, and added friction in the purchase flow.
That friction allegedly included warning screens and design choices that discouraged users from leaving Apple’s payment path, along with constraints on what developers could say when trying to communicate pricing differences.
In plain terms, the lawsuit argues Apple found a way to keep the same money flowing, just with new mechanics.
Who This Lawsuit Is For
This case is not about iPhone owners. It is about iOS app developers.The proposed classes described in the complaint include developers who sold iOS apps, subscriptions, or in app products to purchasers in the United States during the proposed period, with carve outs for developers whose claims were released in an earlier Apple settlement for smaller developers.
It also includes a Korea based developer class focused on sales worldwide, excluding China, going back further.
There is a U.S. component, but this is not a typical American consumer class action. It is a developer class action with a global angle.
What the Plaintiffs Want
The plaintiffs are seeking money back and guardrails.The lawsuit seeks damages tied to what it calls supracompetitive commissions, along with injunctive relief that would permanently bar Apple from maintaining the same structure through different rules.
If the case survives and succeeds, it could also function as a blueprint for how future challenges frame the iOS App Store model.
The Part Most People Miss
Most class action headlines focus on who gets paid.This one is different. It is built around the idea that platform control does not have to look like a closed door. It can look like a series of design choices, policy requirements, and purchase flow nudges that all point in one direction.
Even if you never ship an app, this is the type of lawsuit that influences what the next decade of mobile commerce feels like.
For now, there is one clear takeaway. This case is still at the beginning, but it is aimed directly at the center of Apple’s App Store economics.
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