Apple forced to allow third-party payment methods for in-app purchases

In the Apple vs Epic Games trial, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Apple will have to allow developers to include links to third-party payment methods in their applications. Apple delayed the implementation of the change by submitting an appeal to The Supreme Court of the United States.

Now, the Supreme Court of the United States has declined to hear Apple’s appeal, which means that it is upholding the original decision. With that, Apple will have to allow developers to include links to third-party payment methods in their applications. Given that, many developers will most likely use their own payment methods now, bypassing the App Store. That means Apple will not get a commission from them. With that, Apple’s revenue from the app distribution platform will now decrease significantly.

Apple is already going through a rough patch. The sales of iPad and Mac devices have gone down. Plus, analysts have predicted that the sales of iPhone models will also take a hit in China. As a result, Apple's stock price is going down. That has also helped Microsoft to become the company with the highest valuation in the world. The news about the anti-steering policy is another blow to the company, and it will further affect the tech giant in the stock market. Apple hasn’t commented on the court’s decision yet.