A court has denied Apple’s request to pause orders requiring the company to let developers add links to third-party payment solutions outside the App Store. It still must make changes to its policies by December 9.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled out the decision on November 9, saying that “Apple’s motion is based on a selective reading of this Court’s findings and ignores all of the findings which supported the injunction.”
Apple appealed the Epic Games ruling last month. It said that the upcoming changes would harm users, developers, and the whole platform in general. However, the judge said that the company hadn’t provided credible reasons to believe that the injunction would cause the professed devastation.
“The big question now, given this would circumvent Apple’s in-app purchase mechanism that charges a 30% take rate, is what Apple will do to mitigate some of the potential loss,” Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad wrote on Twitter. “Depending on the interpretation of the court ruling, Apple could find a way to offset that impact.”
Gonzalez Rogers also noted that Apple’s own in-app payment methods will still be more convenient for most customers, but they shouldn’t be deprived of their choice.
Apple has already stated that it will appeal the denial to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. According to Reuters, it might give the company a temporary stay before the December 9 deadline.