Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., center, arrives at U.S. district court in Oakland, California, on Friday, May 21, 2021.Nina Riggio | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple CEO Tim Cook faced sharp questioning on Friday from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers about Apple’s App Store business model at the end of his testimony in the Epic Games v. Apple trial.
The questioning gave a preview into Judge Rogers’ thinking before she decides whether Epic Games’ argument is strong enough to force Apple to allow it to install alternative app stores on the iPhone and avoid the App Store’s 30% fee on in-app purchases.
Rogers asked Cook what his problem was with allowing iPhone users the choice of a lower-fee, through a web browser, specifically for games. Cook said that users have a choice between iPhones or Android devices.
She followed up by asking about whether Apple has a problem with giving users information to get the same in-app purchases through a web browser, bypassing Apple’s 30% fee, suggesting a compromise where Apple would allow a company like Epic Games to link users to a web browser to make transactions, instead of forcing them to use Apple’s in-app purchase mechanism.
“The gaming industry seems to
