Epic v. Apple trial wraps up for now

After weeks of debate, the Epic v. Apple trial has officially come to an end. As the trial wraps up, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will now analyze the testimony which is over 4,500 pages in total and hopefully, we’ll know the decision in the coming weeks or months.

Previously, Rogers hinted that she might have the two companies compromise and have Apple allow users to make purchases on the web rather than in apps, with the rest of the iOS ecosystem being untouched.

On the final day, Judge asked both sides questions about the past weeks of testimony and pointed if customers have the ability to choose which ecosystem they would like to choose.

“There’s a lot of evidence in this trial that in the fore-market of devices, it’s Apple’s business strategy to create a particular kind of ecosystem that is attractive to purchasers,” Judge Rogers said.

Epic’s lawyers argued on iOS to be open for competing in app stores and pointed towards the Mac as an example to show how iOS should resemble. They further explained, Apple doesn’t need to give away access to the iPhone ecosystem but wants them to get rid of restrictions that are anti-competitive.

Apple then claimed that consumers already have a choice as they can choose between Android and iOS. The changes demanded by ‌Epic Games‌ would bring drastic changes to the iOS ecosystem and “destroy the iPhone,” making it less secure and impossible to curate or moderate. Epic wants Apple to “drop its gloves and stand in the middle of the arena and take what comes without any meaningful defense,” Apple’s lawyer said.

Judge Rogers was not convinced with Epic’s statement as Apple would have to change its whole business model. “Epic is here because if relief is granted, they go from a multibillion-dollar company to a maybe-trillion-dollar company, who knows. But they won’t do it out of the kindness of their heart,” she said.

Rogers did not provide any specific date on when a decision will be made. It could be several weeks or months before we hear a decision. But she mentioned to “get to this while the memory of testimony is fresh.”

/ Protocol & 9to5Mac