Apple’s Supreme Court appeal against Epic Games is not its only antitrust fight. The Department of Justice’s civil monopolization suit against Apple is heading toward a 2027 trial with no date yet set, and the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority has spent the past year building out a regulatory framework under a formal designation Apple now holds there.
Neither case turns on the same legal question as the Epic appeal. Both are documented on their own court and regulator records, separate from anything the Supreme Court is deciding in No. 25-1311, and separate from Apple’s September product announcements.
The DOJ case: a 2027 trial track, with no date set
The Department of Justice, joined by 16 state and district attorneys general, filed its civil monopolization suit against Apple in March 2024 in the District of New Jersey. On June 30, 2025, the court denied Apple’s motion to dismiss, and the case proceeds. Judge Xavier Neals has set a timetable pointing toward a 2027 trial, but no trial date has been set. The case is currently in discovery.
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| Key facts | Detail |
|---|---|
| Plaintiff | Department of Justice, with 16 state and district attorneys general |
| Filed | March 2024, District of New Jersey |
| Judge | Xavier Neals |
| Motion to dismiss | Denied June 30, 2025 |
| Current stage | Discovery |
| Trial timetable | Pointing to 2027; no date set |
Two things reported, not yet confirmed on any docket
Two developments around the DOJ case have been reported but are not yet available on a primary court docket to verify directly. One is that the DOJ recently won a temporary pause on document discovery, with both sides due to file responses before Judge Neals rules on the underlying dispute. The other is that early-stage settlement discussions between the DOJ and Apple were reported in July 2026. Neither Apple nor the DOJ has published anything confirming settlement talks, and that detail should be read as reported, not as fact. Apple’s own SEC filings describe the case in the Legal Proceedings note of its most recent quarterly report, which is Apple’s own characterization of where the suit stands.
The UK’s CMA: Apple is a designated Strategic Market Status firm
In the United Kingdom, the Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation into Apple’s mobile platform on January 23, 2025. On October 22, 2025, the CMA issued its final decision designating Apple as having Strategic Market Status, covering mobile operating systems, native app distribution, and mobile browsers and browser engines. Final commitments from Apple took effect April 1, 2026, described by the CMA as providing more certainty for UK developers on app distribution and on requesting interoperable access to Apple’s functionality. Those commitments apply to Apple’s mobile platform generally, covering current devices such as the iPhone 18 Pro and, once it ships, the iPhone Duo.
| Date | CMA case event |
|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2025 | SMS investigation launched |
| Oct 22, 2025 | Final SMS designation issued |
| Apr 1, 2026 | Final commitments take effect; separate call for evidence on app store rules opens |
| Jun 30, 2026 | Consultation opens on proposed Steering Conduct Requirements, plus a call for evidence on iPhone NFC access |
| Aug 14, 2026 | Responses to the Steering Conduct consultation published, most recent entry on the case page |
An open question: NFC access on the iPhone in the UK
The CMA’s call for evidence on developer access to NFC on iOS opened June 30, 2026, alongside the Steering Conduct Requirements consultation. The CMA’s own case page lists no closing date for that NFC question, which means it remains open right now, with no published timetable for when the CMA might act on it. The browser-engine part of Apple’s Strategic Market Status designation is a separate, longer-running thread the CMA has not yet resolved either, and none of it is connected to iOS 27, which arrives Monday on its own unrelated schedule.
What Apple has not said
- Any confirmation of settlement discussions with the DOJ.
- A position on the CMA’s proposed Steering Conduct Requirements beyond what its commitments already cover.
- Anything about opening NFC access to developers in the UK, a question the CMA has not closed.
Today is Saturday, September 12, 2026. The DOJ case has no trial date, the CMA’s Steering Conduct consultation responses were published four weeks ago with no decision yet, and the NFC question has no closing date on the regulator’s own case page to check next.