yawn Apple is getting a mild slap on the wrist and the outcome of the case is probably the best for everyone. It did away with the most entirely absurd and egregious restriction but still lets a company like... choose how to run their business. If anything this is likely to drastically improve the quality of some big-name applications on Apple's platforms, further increasing their bottom line. I would bet money technologically illiterate people have sworn off of Apple's platforms because they bought a device for a single purpose (like watching Netflix) and then couldn't signup for the fucking service on the device. Is that going to be a huge boon for Apple's bottom line? Nope. But it will likely make their ecosystem stickier because there's less friction for groups of consumers. Chances are Apple-HQ is poppin' open some champagne today having a laugh that they ever were allowed to prevent links or calls to action.
The real winners here, no one seems to be talking about, are the console manufacturers who I'm sure had their buttholes puckering at nearly the speed of light waiting for the verdict. While Apple could surely continue on without an exclusive AppStore on its platform, Nintendo and Sony would begin to feel some absolutely critical burning. Both manufacturers have de-facto monopolies on their platforms, and those monopolies are at least as restrictive as Apple's if not more so because they act as barriers to entry into their markets (i.e. If Sony doesn't like your game idea, you can just fuck off with no recourse).
The one thing about this case that pisses me off is Sweeny running his mouth like he and Epic are really victims here. His refusal to put Fortnite (which I've never played) back on the app store is pathetic, childish, and anti-consumer. It is honestly as disgusting to me as Facebook trying to peddle their unwavering commitment to tracking their users every waking-action as "pro consumer." If Sweeny and Epic brought this same case against Nintendo and Sony, I'd maybe be more sympathetic to his bullshit because at least then it would be consistent. My thought is Epic is likely big enough to bully Sony or Nintendo into better deals on their platforms; while, Apple doesn't have to take it's shit for a single solitary second because Epic poses no threat to Apple's revenue. Then this inability to bully the platform owner threw Sweeny into an _epic_ tantrum and here we be.
shrug I'll stop ranting here.