Apple’s brief is due Monday and Epic’s response is due November 13, but neither date puts a hearing on the calendar. Based on the Supreme Court’s own briefing schedule and its argument calendar for the current term, oral argument in Apple Inc. v. Epic Games, Inc., No. 25-1311, is a 2027 event at the earliest, and the docket does not yet list one.
That gap between briefing and argument is normal, not a sign of anything about the case itself. It runs on its own clock, independent of Apple’s September product announcements, of iOS 27, which becomes available the same day Apple’s brief is due, and of the App Store rules already governing every app sold for the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Duo.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Apple’s brief due | September 14, 2026 |
| Epic’s response due | November 13, 2026 |
| Argument date | Not yet on the docket |
| Term structure | October Term 2026 sits in two-week argument sessions from October into spring |
| Typical decision timing | By the end of the term, historically late June |
The briefing steps still ahead
| Step | Status |
|---|---|
| Apple’s opening brief | Due September 14, 2026 |
| Amicus supporting Apple | Due by September 21, 2026, under Rule 37.3(a) |
| Epic’s response brief | Due November 13, 2026 |
| Amicus supporting Epic | Due by November 20, 2026, under Rule 37.3(a) |
| Apple’s reply brief | No deadline yet on the docket |
| Oral argument | Not yet scheduled |
Where the case sits on the Court’s own calendar
The Supreme Court’s argument calendar for October Term 2026 runs in sittings from October through April, each roughly two weeks of argument days followed by weeks reserved for conferences and opinion writing. The October sitting is already under way, and cases for the sittings that follow are filled as their own briefing finishes. A case is not placed into a sitting until briefing is essentially complete, and Epic’s brief alone runs past the middle of November. Add a reply brief and the joint appendix on top of that, and the earliest realistic sitting for this case falls into 2027, well after the sittings the Court has already begun filling with other cases.
Don’t miss the best of The Mac Observer
Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed — one tap, no account changes.
What decides when a case is actually argued
The Court sets its own argument calendar case by case once briefing closes, and nothing in its rules or on this docket obligates it to hear Apple v. Epic Games in any particular sitting. Cases granted around the same time in 2026 have gone on to be argued in sittings months apart from one another, depending on how quickly briefing wrapped up and how the calendar filled. Nothing filed so far, including Monday’s brief, changes that process, and nothing about it should be read as a sign of how quickly, or slowly, the case is moving relative to any other pending appeal.
Why the gap between briefs and a hearing is normal
A four-to-six month gap between a respondent’s brief and oral argument is common at the Supreme Court, not a sign of anything specific to this dispute. The Court schedules arguments in blocks, assigns cases to sittings as space opens, and does not publish a projected argument date the moment briefing is set. Readers looking for a hearing date before the end of 2026 will not find one on the docket, and nothing about Apple’s or Epic’s filings so far suggests that timeline will move any faster than the Court’s own calendar allows. A decision, once argument happens, would typically follow within the same term, which for October Term 2026 runs through the end of June 2027.
What Apple has not said
- Any argument date, because none exists yet on the docket.
- Whether it will request more time for a reply brief once Epic’s response is filed.
- Any statement about when it expects a decision.
Today is Sunday, September 13, 2026. The next dated step is Monday’s brief, then Epic’s response on November 13. An argument date, whenever the Court sets one, will appear on the same public docket.
