المحكمة العليا تحدد 11 يناير لنظر استئناف Apple ضد Epic

The U.S. Supreme Court has put a date on the next round of Apple v. Epic Games. On November 2 the Court's docket for case 25-1311 was updated with a single line: set for argument on Monday, January 11, 2027. It is the first time the six-year dispute that began with Fortnite's removal from the App Store will be argued in front of the nine justices.

What the Court is actually deciding

The question is much narrower than "Apple vs. Epic" suggests. When the Court took the case on June 30, 2026, it granted review limited to the first question in Apple's petition. As SCOTUSblog summarizes it, that question is whether a court may hold a party in civil contempt for violating an injunction's "spirit" when the injunction is silent about the conduct in question, or whether contempt has to rest on an order that clearly and unambiguously forbids that exact conduct.

What the justices will not decide is how much, if anything, Apple may charge on purchases made outside the App Store. 9to5Mac notes that the commission question is being handled separately by the district court, after the Ninth Circuit overturned the blanket ban on commissions in its December 2025 decision.

How the case got here

• 2020: Epic sues Apple after Fortnite is pulled from the App Store for adding its own in-app payment option.
• 2021: Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers sides with Apple on nine of Epic's ten claims, but orders Apple to stop blocking developers from pointing users to payment options outside the App Store.
• After that ruling: Apple allows external purchase links, but with a commission of up to 27% and limits on how the links can be shown.
• April 2025: the district court finds Apple in civil contempt of the 2021 injunction and orders it to drop those restrictions and stop charging commission on outside purchases.
• December 11, 2025: the Ninth Circuit rules on Apple's appeal; it denies rehearing on March 30, 2026.
• May 21, 2026: Apple files its petition with the Supreme Court, which grants it in part on June 30.
• August 13, 2026: Justice Kagan denies Apple's application to pause proceedings in the district court while the appeal runs.
• November 2, 2026: argument set for January 11, 2027.

What happens before January

The paperwork is not done. Apple filed its opening brief on September 14, and a batch of amicus briefs followed on September 21, including one from the United States supporting neither party. Epic's response brief is due November 13, and Apple's reply is due December 14, per 9to5Mac's reading of the schedule. Until a ruling arrives, 9to5Mac reports that Apple continues to let developers send U.S. users to outside payment options without a commission while it fights the contempt finding.

For Fortnite players and island creators, the practical takeaway is that nothing changes on iOS this winter because of this date. The case outcome will matter most for how Epic and every other developer can steer U.S. iPhone users to cheaper web checkouts, and that commission fight is on a separate track. The Supreme Court usually issues opinions in argued cases before its term ends in late June or early July, so a decision would most likely land in mid-2027. Outside the U.S., the picture is already moving on its own: an Australian court ordered Apple to open iOS to rival stores last month, covered in our Australia story.