Apple’s request to delay the implementation of new App Store rules has been rejected by the Supreme Court, marking the company’s latest setback in its fight with Epic Games.
The new ruling is Apple’s latest defeat stemming from the 2020 lawsuit against Epic. Apple won the vast majority of that case, but it is still embroiled in legal battles over it.
On Monday, May 4, 2026, Apple asked the Supreme Court to stay a mandate that required it to meet with Epic Games in court to negotiate a new commission rate. According to Reutersthat request has now been denied by Justice Elena Kagan.
Previously, the 9th United States Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Apple violated rules imposed on it to combat the company’s anti-management practices. As a result, since April 2025, Apple has been forced not to charge any commission on these external purchases.
The Supreme Court has now upheld the lower court’s decision. But that initial ruling by the 9th Circuit was changed in December 2025 to allow Apple to discuss what commission it should charge.
So, for now, Apple will continue to not get any money when iPhone users purchase some additional features by linking the App Store to developer sites.
Apple vs. Epic continues. Image source: Epic Games
Apple had hoped to have that element of the case put on hold while it prepared an appeal against the overall ruling regarding App Store commissions on external purchases. The company had argued that:
A stay is now necessary before Apple is forced to challenge its commission rate under a false and damaging contempt label – in a proceeding that could reshape the global app market – before this Court can consider whether to grant review.
Therefore, what happens next involves Apple ultimately appealing the commissions to district courts. At the same time, he will probably have to negotiate with Epic Games in court.
How Apple got here
It has now been six years since Epic Games chose to have Apple remove its game “Fortnite” from the App Store and thus began a long legal battle. Despite the fact that Apple generally won this battle, there was only one count in the case that worked in Epic’s favor.
This concerned how Apple then blocked app developers from directing users to other payment methods, for example through special offers on their website. Apple was ordered to change this and would claim that it did.
However, Epic Games argued that Apple had flouted the spirit of the law. In April 2025, Judge Gonzalez Rogers agreed and called Apple’s moves a “gross miscalculation” of what the court would accept.