Apple’s out to crush Fortnite and Unreal Engine, Epic Games says. Apple refuses to make exception

Apple’s and Epic’s legal battle dramatically escalated over the weekend. An argument over Epic Games wanting to charge players directly for in-game items for its hit game Fortnite instead of using the company’s payment system and the up to 30% commission it charges, had turned into a battle that threatened to upend game development across the industry. After the company kicked Fortnite and its more than 250 million players from the app store last week, Epic said in a Monday court filing that the iPhone maker is further threatening to ban the Unreal Engine code it offered to outside game developers to help them make apps of their own.

Not content simply to remove Fortnite from the App Store, the company attacked Epic’s entire business in unrelated areas. If the Unreal Engine could no longer support Apple platforms, the software developers that used it will be forced to use alternatives. Epic was in a similar lawsuit against Google, which also kicked Fortnite off its app store for attempting to circumvent its commissioned payment system.

Apple noted Epic had been one of the most successful developers on the App Store, and wants it to remain on its service. In order to do that, though, Epic would need to revert Fortnite to an earlier version of the game to comply with the guidelines they agreed to and which applied to all developers. That included how Epic collects money from gamers. The company would not make an exception for Epic because it was not right to put Epic’s business interests ahead of the guidelines that protect the company’s customers.

Epic launched a video parody of Apple’s famous 1984 Super Bowl Macintosh ad, depicting the game maker as battling the powerful tech giant.

Epic even asked users to tweet the hashtag #FreeFortnite, which shot to the top trending item worldwide on Twitter within an hour of the video’s release. Despite the antics, Epic argued its push to charge customers directly in Fortnite for in-game items is an effort to loosen Apple’s grip on its app store and the more than 1 billion devices that use it. Now, with the company’s threat to punish outside app developers who used Epic’s Unreal Engine, Epic says the iPhone maker is threatening its business model too.

Apple meanwhile said its fees of up to 30% were reasonable when compared to its peers, and it even hired a team of outside economists to prove it. The company had also argued the commissions it charged for in-app purchases in part help pay for the app store’s operations and further development. The notable exception to its list of peers was Epic, which charged 12% to developers who sold titles on its Epic Games Store for PCs.

The European Union investigated Apple over its 30% commission after music streaming service Spotify filed a complaint. The company only allowed users to install apps from its app store, citing its security and reliability testing for each app that ensured they were safe. Devices powered by Google’s Android software could use Google’s app store, but the company also offered a way to manually install Fortnite without having to go through the app store.

People who installed Fortnite on their iPhones, iPads, and other devices before the app was banned so far can continue to play the game.

Epic asked the court for a preliminary injunction in its pending legal battle with the company, essentially allowing Fortnite back on the app store until the legal proceedings conclude. The company did not appear to have filed a response so far. The company had released public betas for the next big Apple Watch and Mac software updates. On the Mac, Big Sur has a ton of visual differences that would grow on you, they made macOS look just a little more like iOS.

It also did a weird new thing with links, which also made the Mac feel just a little more like iOS, too. For Apple News Plus subscribers, clicking links to publications that were part of that subscription bundle would take you to the company’s News app instead of a browser. iOS 14 would do the same thing. This might be exactly what subscribers wanted to happen if they paid for the company’s News Plus.

Instead of opening a page with a paywall, subscribers just got the article they clicked on. The behavior was a little weird. Clicking a link in Safari opened Apple News. Clicking a link in Chrome stayed in Chrome. Clicking a link in some other app like Slack opened in the company’s News app even if the default browser was Chrome. That was odd simply because it was not clear how Big Sur knew that it should redirect some websites but not others.

The point was that what happened when clicking a link the behavior was inconsistent.

It might open a browser, or it might open Apple News. At least the company was allowing subscribers to uncheck an option for this in the preferences for the the company’s News app. The company was committed to creating the best experience for News Plus subscribers. News Plus subscribers could set their link preference in the company’s News settings. This change gave subscribers seamless access to the content that was part of the company’s News Plus subscription right in the News or publisher app, as well as providing publishers with increased engagement and revenue opportunities on the company’s News app.

It meant that publishers who offered a direct subscription option would lose out on that chance with people going directly to Apple News, which pays much less. The company was beginning to compromise user experience in the name of its services revenue. It actively distrusted the web and would like more activity to happen inside apps than inside browsers.

If browsers were used less, that meant fewer intrusive ads and lesser tracking. Sometimes a company’s incentives line up with its values. It was also fair that Apple users were not hitting paywalls when they did not need to because they were already paying for the company’s News Plus. Clicking on a link with “http” in front of it should take you to a web browser, but that was just what people were used to.

Nobody said links were the exclusive domain of the web.

Preferring Apple News over the otherwise normal behavior for links made the Mac work just a little more like the iPhone, where until iOS 14 the company rigidly controlled the default apps for everything. Even in iOS 14, only the email and browser apps could be changed. The same values and incentives were coming for in-app ads on iOS 14. Third-party apps would need to ask users for permission to track on an app-by-app basis, but the company’s own ad network apparently had a default opt-in for Personalized Ads.

Apple legitimately was less creepy than the rest of the app ad ecosystem, but that did not mean the company itself will not benefit. The subject of iOS had been at the center of another controversy. The company had reasserted that cloud gaming services like xCloud and Stadia violate App Store guidelines. It provided a repeat of a statement it had given Mark Gurman this past March, saying that gaming services could launch on the App Store as long as they followed the same set of guidelines applicable to all developers, including submitting games individually for review, and appearing in charts and search.

Microsoft and Facebook issued fiery counter-statements, but Apple stood firm. Walls were only there because people built them. Microsoft and Facebook had actually lashed out at the company for restrictive App Store policies, which they said prevented them from releasing video gaming services on iPhones and other iOS devices. The company had numerous apps in the App Store that disperse games, including the main Facebook app.

On the circumstance with Microsoft, Apple’s standards indicated that app developers needed to submit every video game separately for evaluation.

Microsoft’s cloud video gaming service had a library of more than 100 titles. Facebook was forced to make a concession to bring it to the App Store. It eventually managed to introduce an iOS version of its gaming app. It had to eliminate the capability to play video games immediately. The Facebook Gaming app, launched in Google Play in April, enabled people to produce and stream live video gaming content and was seen as a rival to Amazon’s Twitch live-streaming platform.

Unfortunately, Microsoft did not have a course to bring its vision of cloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to gamers on iOS via the Apple App Store. The company stood alone as the only general function platform to reject consumers from cloud gaming and game membership services like Xbox Game Pass. And the company regularly dealt with gaming apps differently, using more lax rules to non-gaming apps even when they consisted of interactive material.

Microsoft was dedicated to bringing cloud video gaming to the iOS platform. The company had its own video gaming service that took on video game membership offerings from the similarity Microsoft, Google, and NVIDIA, called the Apple Arcade Plus. Arcade Plus included a brochure of games from Konami, Ubisoft, and Lego. Microsoft once had its own Twitch-like video game streaming service called Mixer but recently chose to close it down, encouraging users to change over to Facebook Gaming.

Microsoft likewise would no longer be providing a minimal testing version of the app on iOS.

The platform Microsoft had actually developed for Apple devices just supported one game, which was due to the company’s App Store policies. Microsoft now would not be able to launch its video game streaming service commercially on iOS due to these constraints. The company had come under increased scrutiny over its App Store rules, which regulators were concerned for anti-competitive practices.

It was the subject of an antitrust investigation from the European Union, and was questioned by United States lawmakers in a congressional antitrust hearing with CEO Tim Cook and in charges of Google, Facebook, and Amazon. There was quite a lot of pressure building from various entities, and they were trying to develop customer awareness of the concerns included as a way to convince Apple to change its policies. Microsoft was not the first to deal with roadblocks in introducing cloud video gaming services on the company’s devices.

Google’s Stadia and NVIDIA’s GeForce had also found trouble with launching iOS variations of their apps due to the App Store’s standards. Unfortunately, Facebook needed to remove gameplay performance completely in order to get Apple’s approval on the standalone Facebook Gaming app, suggesting iOS users had an inferior experience to those utilizing Android. Facebook remained focused on building communities for the more than 380 million people who played games on Facebook every month, whether the company permitted it in a standalone app or not.

Microsoft would be introducing its xCloud video gaming service as part of a membership service called Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

The app, which let users leap into an Xbox game on their smartphones or tablets, will only be readily available on devices powered by Google’s Android mobile operating system, not Apple’s iOS. Every other year, the company made cosmetic modifications to its iPhones to freshen up their looks, much to the delight of anticipating consumers. However, the iPhone 12 would look similar to the iPhone 11.

The only possible difference is that the iPhone 12’s edges would be somewhat bowed. On the other hand, Apple was also speculated to totally revamp the iPhone’s design with flat edges similar to the new iPads. iPhone 12 might not feature EarPods or a power adapter. The company might not include its wired EarPod earphones in the iPhone 12 box. This would be a move to encourage people to buy the company’s wireless AirPods instead.

Apple had included EarPod earphones since the iPhone 5 release in 2012, so this would be a significant change. The iPhone 12 would ship without a power adapter too. The factor was primarily expenses. By foregoing it, the company could keep costs down while loading the phone with 5G components. It would likewise help lower freight expenses as the size of the packaging would shrink.

Apple would launch 4 new iPhone 12 designs.

All of them would have OLED display screens. The present 5.8-inch size of the iPhone 11 Pro might be disappearing. The 5.4-inch and one of the 6.1-inch models would be the lower-end gadgets, presumably called the iPhone 12. Then the more expensive phones will be the other 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch iPhones 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, respectively. The previous year, Apple introduced a midnight green color on the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max.

There might be a possibility that Apple would release another brand-new color, navy blue, on the iPhone 12 Pro. There was also speculation that the iPhone 12’s display screen would have a 120Hz revitalize rate which perhaps the iPhone 12 Pro might have a ProMotion display, which was featured on the iPad Pro. Most phones revitalized at 60 frames per second, or 60Hz.

But other phones, like the Galaxy S20 and the OnePlus 8 Pro refreshed at 120Hz. With a greater refresh rate, a phone felt faster and smoother when scrolling through things like web pages and apps. Despite such interruptions, reports continued to swirl around the iPhone 12 phones, which would continue until they officially launched. In addition to a possibility of introducing 3D depth-sensing to its rear cams and brand-new screen sizes, speculation had arisen that Apple would belatedly include a 5G function in the iPhone that would make it competitive with its rivals.

This made good sense considering Apple’s main competitor, Samsung, released numerous 5G phones, including the high-end Galaxy S20 phones and the Note 20.

Despite Apple’s largest maker, Foxconn, ensuring investors it would make its timeline, the iPhone 12 could face hold-ups. This was because of the covid pandemic and its unprecedented impact on manufacturing and consumer needs. The company might delay until October to reveal the phone, which was a month after the iPhone’s normal launch. The company might project supply to be available a couple of weeks later than the previous year’s mid-September launch.

Other iPhone models might be introduced in different, multiple phases too. Due to the pandemic tossing off production schedules, the two 6.1-inch iPhone models might launch initially, with the 6.7- and 5.4-inch versions coming later on. iPhone 12 price might be less expensive than iPhone 11. When the iPhone 11 debuted in 2015, its base model cost $699, which was $50 less expensive than 2018’s iPhone XR.

This trend might continue, with Apple pricing the iPhone 12 at $649, the iPhone 12 Pro at $999, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max at $1,099. Numerous reports were anticipating that the company would include 5G connection this year. More specifically, many anticipated the company to unveil three 5G phones and that the company might use its own proprietary 5G antennas.

There were a number of reasons why Apple did not jump on the trend in 2019.

Apple typically was not the first to jump in on mobile trends, choosing instead to perfect an emerging technology prior to dedicating to it. For instance, it was behind its rivals in making phones with 3G and 4G LTE connectivity when those networks just launched. This led to the company’s previous partner of 5G modems, Intel, to ultimately leave the 5G phone modem service completely and the company later acquired Intel’s mobile phone modem business for $1 billion.

iPhone 12’s video camera might have 3D depth sensor. Since the iPhone X, more recent iPhones had front-facing cameras that had 3D depth sensor called Face ID, this feature scanned your face for unlocking your phone and licensing digital payments. It had been reported that Apple might take it up a notch and presented that exact same system to the rear cameras.

Experts anticipated 2 of the 2020 iPhones models to have a brand-new time-of-flight camera lens on the back of the phone. The setup would resemble that of the current True Depth camera system used for Face ID on the front of the phone, other than it would utilize a slightly different kind of technology that could enable it to 3D map things from further away. This would substantially enhance its electronic camera features like Portrait Mode to the next level.

It was unclear how many of the new iPhones would be equipped with this function, if any.

With Apple’s iOS 14 offered for public beta, the upcoming iPhone and all the other iPhones compatible with the upgrade, could do.