Apple Weekly Update: 5 fascinating facts from the Apple-Epic trial

In case you haven’t been paying attention to legal Twitter this week, a pretty big court case is going on between Apple and Epic. There’s a lot to sift through, but the crux of the matter is Epic claims Apple is leveraging its monopolistic advantage in the App Store to require developers to hand over up to 30 percent of the revenue they bring in.

No one knows how the case will turn out—and whatever the result you can expect the losing party to appeal—but it has the potential to reshape the App Store as we know it. Columnist Jason Snell dissected some of the possible outcomes, but what’s clear is that there is still a long way to go before the issue is settled.

But even without bombshell testimony so far, some interesting tidbits have come out of the first week of the trial. Here are five interesting facts you should know.

Apple floated the idea of ‘punitive measures’ against Netflix

In December 2018, Netflix made the move to avoid paying Apple by removing the ability to purchase subscriptions through its iOS app. While Netflix tested the move, Apple monitored the situation and was clearly concerned about the implications it would have. In an email chain, Carson Oliver, Apple’s director of app store business management, asked, “Do we want to take any punitive measures in response to the (Netflix) test (for example, pulling all global featuring during the test period)?” We don’t know if discussions were held over a course of action, but the question makes it clear that Apple isn’t afraid of going to battle with big companies over the App Store.

Tim Cook didn’t know who Tim Sweeney was in 2015

As the head of the largest company in the world, we expect Tim Cook meets a lot of people. So it’s understandable if he forgets a few of them. In 2015, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney sent an email to Cook asking to “separate iOS App Store curation from compliance review and app distribution” and effectively remove Apple as “the sole arbiter of expression and commerce over an app platform approaching a billion users.” Cook’s response was to ask Phil Schiller, “Is this the guy that was at one of our rehearsals?” It was—Epic had demoed an early version of Fortnite at WWDC just a few weeks prior.

Eddie Cue lobbied to bring iMessage to Android

While it’s pretty clear now that iMessages is never coming to Android, it came closer to happening than we know. In 2013, senior VP of software and services Eddie Cue suggested Apple “should go full speed and make (iMessage on Android) an official project.” He compared the situation to Google, which has “search, mail, free video, and growing quickly in browsers” and pushed to make iMessage “the industry standard.” He was shot down by Craig Federighi, who said iMessage on Android “would simply serve to remove an obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones.”

Epic would have taken a deal

While Epic claims its lawsuit isn’t about money but rather about Apple’s control over the lawsuit, Sweeney’s answers on the stand tell a different story. When asked by Epic’s lawyer whether he would have accepted a reduced commission deal “with you and no other developers,” Sweeney said, “Yes, I would have.” Apple previously alleged that Sweeney contacted the company about a deal, though Sweenet previously tweeted that “the fight isn’t over Epic wanting a special deal, it’s about the basic freedoms of all consumers and developers.” Had Apple offered one, perhaps this trial never would have happened.

Schiller proposed cutting Apple’s commission in 2011

Way before Apple’s Small Business Program cut its rates to 15 percent for developers making less than a million in revenue, Phil Schiller wondered whether Apple should make the proactive decision to trim the fees. He wrote in an email to Steve Jobs, “While I am a staunch supporter of the 70/30 split … I don’t think that 70/30 will last that unchanged forever.” It’s unclear whether Jobs responded, but clearly, Schiller’s fears went unfounded.