Apple has again failed to earn a stay for fee calculations in its ongoing legal fight with Epic Games. Apple's case will be heard by the Supreme Court in the term beginning October, and Apple asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to pause proceedings until then, but the court said no. Apple now has 24 hours to give the court an outline of the fees it wants to charge developers for using alternative payment options and linking out to purchase options on the web. Epic Games will then provide a legal analysis, and the court will decide what's reasonable.

Fee calculations stem from the dispute that began when Epic sued Apple in 2020. Apple largely won initially but was ordered to change its anti-steering rules. Apple complied but charged a 12 to 27 percent fee that few developers used. Epic accused Apple of violating the order, and U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in contempt in April 2025, stopping Apple from collecting fees on links. Apple appealed, and the appeals court upheld the contempt ruling but said Apple could charge reasonable fees, sending the case back to district court.

Apple appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case. Apple sought a pause on fee calculations, but the appeals court, Supreme Court, and now the district court have denied Apple's requests. The court will now determine a fee, and Apple must change its App Store rules. The outcome could have implications beyond the United States, as Apple told the Supreme Court that global regulators are watching.