Apple Advertises Its Own Music, Arcade Services In iPhone Settings And Risks Further Regulatory Trouble

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone users, who have updated to the latest version of iOS, are being served static advertisements for the company’s Music and Arcade services in the Settings but this might land the tech giant in hot soup with the regulators.

What Happened: The advertisements are promoting free trials for Apple Music and Apple arcade, Apple Insider reported. 
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The ads reportedly show up when an iPhone user is not a current subscriber and can be dismissed through interaction by some users but may persist for others.

Apple is likely using its services database to push out or activate the Settings app options on a per-user basis, as per Apple Insider.

Why It Matters: The placement of advertisements could bring trouble for the Tim Cook-led company as it operates the platform and competes with service providers at the same time, noted Apple Insider.

See Also: Apple Agrees To Change App Store To Settle Antitrust Lawsuit; App Store Profits Could Plummet

On Wednesday, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said on Twitter that similar advertising opportunities are not available to Apple rivals like Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) and Sound Cloud.

New from the guys who banned Fortnite: settings-screen ads for their own music service, which come before the actual settings, and which aren’t available to other advertisers like Spotify or Sound Cloud. “It’s all about the customers!” https://t.co/p9FNpXT1Rx

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) October 6, 2021

The “Fortnite” maker plans to appeal a recent court ruling in an antitrust case that allows Apple to continue its prohibition of third-party in-app payment systems and allows it to continue charging a cut on such payments.

Epic’s flagship game was removed from the App Store over a falling out on such in-app payments.

Last month, Apple decided to forego its App Store cut allowing the likes of Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Spotify to process payments outside the marketplace but did not extend the changes to gaming.

Apple’s latest antitrust troubles could arise over its Near Field Communications (NFC) chip technology as European Union officials are said to be working on a statement of objections over the iPhone maker’s refusal to allow rivals to use contactless payments on phones.

Price Action: On Wednesday, Apple shares closed almost 0.6% higher at $142 in the regular session and rose 0.35% in the after-hours trading.
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