Apple users are ‘trapped’ in App Store, Epic says at trial

The trial in Oakland, California, is the first test of a broader backlash Apple is facing – with billions of dollars in revenue on the line – from global regulators and some app developers who say its standard App Store fee of 30% and others policies are unfair and self-serving. — Reuters

Epic Games Inc alleges that Apple Inc’s App Store has left users and developers “trapped” in an anticompetitive marketplace, while the iPhone maker accuses the creator of Fortnite of a “fundamental assault” on a business model that has enriched millions of developers.

The two companies that were once close allies came out swinging Monday at the start of a trial before a federal judge who must decide whether Apple is monopolising the marketplace for applications that run on its ubiquitous phones.