Apple has asked a federal judge to let it charge developers up to 15% on purchases made through external payment links in iOS apps. The proposal, filed on August 13, 2026, represents Apple’s latest attempt to monetize transactions it doesn’t directly process, even after a court found it in contempt for previous commission practices.
Right now, Apple is charging exactly 0% on those external-link transactions. That’s not generosity. It’s a court order.
The Epic saga continues
This chapter of Apple’s commission drama traces back to the Epic Games v. Apple antitrust case that’s been grinding through the legal system since 2020. A 2021 injunction from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers required Apple to let developers include external payment links in their apps without imposing anti-steering restrictions. In plain terms: Apple had to let apps tell users they could pay somewhere else, and it couldn’t punish them for doing so.
Apple’s initial response was to slap a 27% commission on those external transactions. The court was not impressed. An April 30, 2025 contempt order barred Apple from charging any commissions on external-link purchases, dropping the rate to zero.
