[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-australian-court-orders-apple-to-open-ios-to-rival-stores":10,"sections":44},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":30,"tags":31,"sources":36,"feedback":43,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":43,"total_tokens":43},12107,"australian-court-orders-apple-to-open-ios-to-rival-stores","Australian Court Orders Apple to Open iOS to Rival Stores","An Australian Federal Court judgment in Epic's case against Apple orders alternative app stores, sideloading and third-party payments.","Australia's Federal Court has ordered Apple to allow alternative app stores, sideloading and third-party payments, in the case brought by Epic Games. The judgment is listed as [2026] FCA 1552.\n\nEach order targets a different part of how Apple runs its platform. Alternative app stores are rival marketplaces that sit alongside the App Store. Sideloading means installing an app directly, with no store involved. Third-party payments let developers collect money through their own systems instead of Apple's in-app purchase system, which carries a commission.\n\nThe details that decide how much this changes are not yet public: how broad the orders are, when Apple has to comply, and whether it will appeal. Those points tend to matter more than the headline. Apple has appealed adverse rulings before, and compliance deadlines often set the real timeline.\n\nThe ruling fits a pattern. The European Union's Digital Markets Act pushed Apple to permit alternative stores and sideloading there in 2024, and Apple responded with new fee structures and security checks that critics said blunted the effect. A US court has separately restricted Apple's limits on steering customers to outside payment options. Australia now adds a third jurisdiction in which Apple may have to run its devices under different rules.\n\nThat puts Apple in a patchwork. A market of roughly 27 million people is small next to the EU or the US, so the precedent probably matters more than the revenue. Each new order also gives regulators elsewhere a template to copy or improve on.\n\nThe EU experience suggests where the next fight lies. Once opening up is settled, the argument shifts to what Apple may still charge and which checks it may keep. Whether the Australian orders leave room for fees on purchases made outside the App Store is the question that will decide whether developers see a difference.","[\"apple\",\"epic-games\",\"app-stores\",\"antitrust\"]","2026-10-22T01:52:03.000Z","2026-10-22T03:09:39.202Z","2026-10-22T03:09:39.466Z","published",null,[24],{"id":25,"reviewer":26,"round":27,"reason":28,"status":29},"editor-r1","editor",1,"Remove the passage that exposes sourcing limits to the reader ('The source material is the judgment listing itself... We do not have...'), and state plainly what is not yet known (scope, deadlines, appeal) instead. The only source is a Hacker News post with a judgment URL and a title, so the dek's 'according to the judgment' and the claim that these 'cover the three main ways Apple controls' its devices overstate what was verified. Attribute the outcome carefully, cut the unsupported framing, an","resolved","policy",[32,33,34,35],"apple","epic-games","app-stores","antitrust",[37,40],{"name":38,"url":39},"Hacker News","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au\u002Fjudgments\u002FJudgments\u002Ffca\u002Fsingle\u002F2026\u002F2026fca1552",{"name":41,"url":42},"MacRumors","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.macrumors.com\u002F2026\u002F10\u002F22\u002Frival-app-stores-in-australia-ordered\u002F",0,{"sections":45},[46,51,56,59,64,69,74,79,84,89,94,99,104,109],{"name":47,"slug":48,"count":49,"latest_published_at":50},"AI","ai",7057,"2026-10-21T21:30:02.000Z",{"name":52,"slug":53,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Security","security",1032,"2026-10-21T18:26:38.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":30,"count":58,"latest_published_at":18},"Policy",566,{"name":60,"slug":61,"count":62,"latest_published_at":63},"Deals","deals",551,"2026-10-21T23:00:00.000Z",{"name":65,"slug":66,"count":67,"latest_published_at":68},"Hardware","hardware",282,"2026-10-21T15:51:59.000Z",{"name":70,"slug":71,"count":72,"latest_published_at":73},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",277,"2026-10-22T06:23:10.000Z",{"name":75,"slug":76,"count":77,"latest_published_at":78},"Science","science",212,"2026-10-21T22:13:50.000Z",{"name":80,"slug":81,"count":82,"latest_published_at":83},"Startups","startups",140,"2026-10-21T18:51:56.000Z",{"name":85,"slug":86,"count":87,"latest_published_at":88},"Software","software",138,"2026-10-22T04:52:10.000Z",{"name":90,"slug":91,"count":92,"latest_published_at":93},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",122,"2026-10-21T16:00:00.000Z",{"name":95,"slug":96,"count":97,"latest_published_at":98},"General","general",94,"2026-10-21T18:31:15.000Z",{"name":100,"slug":101,"count":102,"latest_published_at":103},"Gaming","gaming",85,"2026-10-21T18:39:52.000Z",{"name":105,"slug":106,"count":107,"latest_published_at":108},"Reviews","reviews",38,"2026-10-20T12:00:00.000Z",{"name":110,"slug":111,"count":112,"latest_published_at":113},"How-To","how-to",8,"2026-10-05T09:00:00.000Z"]