But the Ninth Circuit's 54-page decision overturned one key part of Gonzalez Rogers' civil contempt crackdown that prohibited Apple from collecting commissions when consumers make an e-commerce purchase within an iPhone app through a payment systems that operate outside of Apple's control. The appeals judges decided the ban that would have prevented Apple from imposing fees on rival payment options was too severe and ordered Gonzalez Rogers to reopen the case to determine a fair commission rate that the Cupertino, California, company, can charge.
For the U.S. market, OpenAI's ChatGPT topped the ranks of free iPhone apps (not including games) with the most installs in 2025. The AI app was followed by Threads, Google, TikTok, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail and then Google's Gemini. ChatGPT made it to No. 4 last year, but the top spot was taken by Chinese shopping app Temu.
While often misunderstood to apply to the actions of private organizations that people don't agree with (e.g., kicking people off a social media platform for hate speech or telling someone to leave a physical establishment for being disruptive), the Constitution's First Amendment actually prevents the government from retaliating against citizens for engaging in protected speech, which is precisely what Aaron's lawsuit argues.
December is here, which means as the year comes to a close, companies carefully curate a nostalgic rewind of the past year with experiences such as Spotify Wrapped or, in Apple's case, the release of the 2025 App Store Awards honorees. The awards are designed to showcase the best apps and games available on the Apple App Store during the past year, with Apple's App Store editors carefully selecting 17 apps from the nearly 2 million apps across various devices.