Apple called its Epic ruling a ‘huge win.’ It wasn’t.

The best news for Apple is that the judge rejected Epic’s claim that the iOS App Store represents a market unto itself, with Apple commanding a 100 percent monopoly. Instead, the judge found that the market in which Epic Games’ apps competes is “digital mobile gaming transactions,” a sector that includes Google’s Android platform. She was also unconvinced by Epic’s arguments that Apple “locks in” users with policies and services, such as iMessage, that make it overly burdensome to switch to Android. She noted that Apple’s high customer satisfaction ratings suggest most users stay because they like it, not because they’re trapped.