Judge digs into Apple app store policies as Epic Games trial ends

The judge who will decide a case challenging Apple’s stranglehold on its iPhone app store indicated on Monday she would like to promote more competition but without dismantling a commission system that reaps billions of dollars for the technology powerhouse.

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is not likely to issue a decision until this summer. But she opened a window into her thoughts during a three-hour session with lawyers for Apple and its adversary, Epic Games, during the final day of a three-week trial in Oakland, California.

Gonzalez Rogers’ line of questioning suggested she sides with much of the defence that Apple has mounted to justify the 15 per cent to 30 per cent commissions it collects for in-app transactions on the iPhone to help pay for the technology powering its devices.