Epic’s December 2023 win against Google concerned how an app store protects its position. A jury found that Google’s conduct violated antitrust law. Epic’s statement described the verdict as reaching its dealings with developers, potential competitors, and device makers. Epic was a party to the case, so its account deserves that attribution.
I care about the distribution question more than the headline fee. A developer cannot bargain freely over a store’s terms if reaching customers through another channel carries too much friction. Android’s ability to install other stores does not by itself tell us whether those stores can compete for ordinary users.
At this post’s date, the verdict left the remedy to follow. A finding against Google did not immediately change every payment rule or put an alternative store on every phone. The useful test was what developers could offer and what customers could install after the court set the terms.
The case was not interchangeable with Epic’s Apple litigation. Different evidence and proceedings can produce different outcomes. Calling one verdict a universal answer to app-store competition would skip the details that made it possible.