Alot has already been said about this.

Here’s Gruber.

Here’s 9to5mac.

Here’s Primary Technology’s podcast where Stephen and Jason spend the first 35 minutes on it.

As far as Apple itself, we’re seeing some immediate effects of this where they are changing the App Store rules to allow outside purchases, something judge Gonzalez Rogers emphasized in her ruling that was something the company was supposed to do in the first place.

But I want to talk about something a little different. After digesting this news for a day or two and listening to some podcasts about it, my main takeaway was the reaction to the hugeness of it. Most folks who cover Apple love their products. There’s a genuine enjoyment in showing others how easy and fun it is to touch and feel and use iPhones, Macs, iPads, etc. The software is intuitive, beautifully designed, almost eye candy. Additionally, there’s some joy in contrasting with other companies' products where the same design and joyfulness is decidedly absent.

However, now these same people can no longer ignore the fact that Apple has behaved in a manner that is clearly anti-user, not to mention anti-developer. One commenter on 9to5mac summed it up pretty well: 

“Apple makes some of my favorite technology products, while at the same time engaging in some of the most anti-competitive, anti-consumer practices we see today. I celebrate this ruling. I believe it’s possible both to love Apple products and want the company to do better.” - Ryan W.

When other Big Tech companies are naughty, that’s big news too. And it’s covered just as thoroughly. But the reaction is a little more muted, to my ears at least. Nowadays, in 2025, we almost expect Google, Meta, Amazon, et al. to misbehave from time to time. Their revenue model doesn’t align perfectly with user experience, and so it’s no surprise that Google wants all of our data or Meta wants to show us more targeted ads. And it’s not really much of a shock when they’re accused of lying and cheating the system. “Oh, Zuck weaseled his way through that senate hearing? Cool. What’s for lunch?”

But when Apple ignores a judge’s ruling and an Apple executive is allegedly caught lying under oath, the subtext of the reaction is different: Apple is better than this. They should have known better. Indeed, Phil Schiller appealed to the other execs' better natures back when the first ruling occurred in 2021 and basically said (paraphrasing): “guys, let’s just do what they’re asking and move on”.

It’s an interesting contrast. Apple is so huge nowadays that it really shouldn’t be a surprise that they’re engaging in anti-competitive behavior. Just like all the others, they can afford an army of analysts and lawyers to figure out ways to game the system. What’s different though, is when the Googles and Metas of the world do it, we seem to shrug our shoulders. But when Apple does it, we’re genuinely hurt because our expectations of the company that was founded by Steve Jobs are much higher.