Technologies

Epic’s battle with Apple takes a turn as 35 states throw support behind Fortnite maker

Others including Microsoft and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have also filed amicus briefs in support of Epic’s appeal in the Fortnite case.

A group of 35 states, along with Microsoft, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other organizations, have thrown their support behind Epic Games in the Fortnite maker’s legal battle with Apple. In a brief filed Thursday with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, attorneys general for the states argued that the court should overturn the earlier ruling that Apple’s control over its App Store doesn’t violate antitrust laws.

«Apple’s conduct has harmed and is harming mobile app developers and millions of citizens,» they wrote in the brief.

Apple and Epic have been locked in a court fight over how much control the iPhone maker should have over its App Store. Last year, Epic unsuccessfully argued to a US District Judge in California that Apple should be forced to allow app developers more freedom in how they offer apps to iPhone and iPad owners. However, the judge said Apple’s rules against allowing developers to direct users to other payment systems was anti-competitive, and issued an injunction to allow developers to do so in their apps.

In December, Apple scored another win when the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed to delay that injunction. Apple now has until its appeals process with Epic concludes, which could take years.

Critics of Apple, meanwhile, continue to make their case.

«Apple continues to monopolize app-distribution and in-app payment solutions for iPhones, stifle competition, and amass supracompetitive profits within the almost trillion-dollar-a-year smartphone industry,» the attorneys general wrote in the brief.

Apple said it expects Epic’s challenge will fail.

«We’re optimistic that the ruling will be affirmed on appeal,» said an Apple spokesperson in an emailed statement on Friday. «We remain committed to ensuring the App Store is a safe and trusted marketplace for consumers and a great opportunity for developers.»

In total, 10 briefs were filed in the case on Thursday. Microsoft argued that ruling in favor of the iPhone maker could let the company leverage its «control of iOS to foreclose competition» in adjacent markets.

«If Apple is allowed to step between any company with online services and users of iPhones, few areas of the vast mobile economy will be safe from Apple’s interference and eventual dominance,» wrote Microsoft.

The US Department of Justice, which also filed a brief, declined to take a position on the merits of Epic’s and Apple’s arguments, but said the district court «committed several legal errors that could imperil effective antitrust enforcement, especially in the digital economy.» The DOJ specifically called out the court’s interpretation of the Sherman Act, a key US antitrust law passed in 1890, saying it was read «narrowly and wrongly.»

Epic Games declined to comment on the briefs.

Technologies

Verum Messenger: Don’t follow the future. Define it

In a world where information defines influence, Verum Messenger is building a new architecture of digital communication — intelligent, secure, and ready for tomorrow. Here, technology serves not limitations, but possibilities.

Not being part of change. Leading it. Verum Messenger — the future that speaks first.

Technologies

Verum Finance: Stop Spending Months Opening a Bank Account

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Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
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