Apple has officially started to present its case in the ongoing legal battle with Epic Games over the App Store. Things have kicked off with Apple Fellow and App Store boss Phil Schiller’s testimony, with Tim Cook and Craig Federighi expected to testify later this week and into early next week.
Apple has said that Schiller’s testimony will focus on the development and launch of the App Store in 2008, details and color around the App Store guidelines, the competitive landscape in the smartphone industry, and more.
Schiller served on Apple’s marketing team for 27 years before transitioning to the Apple Fellow role last year. Despite his new title of Apple Fellow, Schiller still leads the App Store and Apple events. His work on the App Store makes him a notable player in the Epic vs. Apple case.
In the first minutes of his testimony, Schiller was questioned about how Steve Jobs reorganized Apple in 1997. Schiller also spoke about jailbreaking, explaining that users were jailbreaking the iPhone to access third-party applications. As you might expect, Schiller did not paint jailbreaking in a good light, saying that the process often led to security concerns, privacy issues, and general instability.
Schiller also testified on the introduction of the iPhone SDK and App Store in 2008, the reasons behind Apple’s decision to open the iPhone to third-party developers, and more. Schiller also explained why Apple chose to let developers pick their own pricing for apps, as opposed to a one-price-fits-all model similar to what was used in the iTunes Store.
Other tidbits from Schiller’s testimony:
- The annual WWDC event costs $50 million to put on every year
- Apple is building a new developer center at Apple Park
- Apple has 5,000 people managing App Store refunds. Organized under the AppleCare team.
- More to come…
Read more:
- After being put in the middle of the Epic vs. Apple case, Roblox says its developers make ‘experiences’ not games
- Epic vs. Apple court case: First week recap
- Epic CEO says he would have taken a special App Store deal if Apple had offered
- Apple and Epic go head-to-head in fiery opening remarks of highly-anticipated trial
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