Apple Fires Back: “Consumers Have a Choice”
Apple’s legal team dismissed the lawsuit as misguided, arguing that it rests on an artificially narrow definition of the market—one that excludes Android and other competitors.
In closing arguments, Apple’s lawyers insisted that iOS users willingly choose a “more secure, private, and user-friendly” ecosystem. Forcing Apple to adopt a model closer to Android, they argued, would strip consumers of that choice and expose them to malicious apps.
“What has become abundantly clear during this trial is that Dr. Kent’s simplistic argument is disconnected from the reality of the market,” Apple stated in court filings. The company also claimed that it faces “intense competition” in the mobile device sector, which naturally curbs its pricing power.
A High-Stakes Legal Battle With Industry-Wide Implications
Kent’s lawsuit is the first of many pending cases targeting major tech giants in the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). If successful, the case could open the floodgates for similar actions against Meta, Google, and other dominant players accused of imposing unfair restrictions on consumers.
Apple maintains that consumers have suffered no real financial harm, and in January, its CFO Kevan Parekh argued that the App Store’s profitability “cannot be meaningfully measured.”
With billions at stake and regulatory scrutiny mounting worldwide, the outcome of this case could determine how much control tech giants can wield over their digital marketplaces—and how much consumers ultimately pay for it.
