Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives has weighed in on the Apple vs Epic court case, and he believes Apple will come out on top.
Epic has launched a serious legal challenge to how Apple’s App Store ecosystem works. Last year, the company circumvented Apple and Google’s in-app payment systems, resulting in Fortnite being removed from both companies’ app stores.
Epic launched a lawsuit against Apple, claiming the company was harming it by removing Fortnite. A judge refused the company an injunction, saying Epic couldn’t cry foul when it caused the problem by breaking its developer agreements with Apple and Google. In contrast, if the company had an issue with the terms of doing business on the app stores, it could have filed a lawsuit and collected back damages if it won. Instead, it engaged in a PR stunt to make its point.
The trial between Apple and Epic started today, but analysts aren’t convinced the game-maker will win. According to AppleInsider, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives believes Apple will prevail. This is not the first time Apple’s App Store policies have come under fire. Apple has always prevailed and Ives believes this will be “no different.” He also said Epic’s approach was a “risky and calculated path,” whereas Apple’s approach is “fortress-like despite the Epic noise.”
The outcome of the trial will have profound impacts on both Apple and Google, as well as multiple app store economies.