Russia escalates dispute with Apple over mandatory app preinstallation

Russia's antitrust regulator has initiated a formal case against Apple due to the company's non-compliance with a directive to preinstall the state-backed MAX messenger and Russia's RuStore app marketplace on its devices. This legal action follows a longstanding dispute between Apple and Russian authorities, which began in 2019 when Russia implemented a law obligating device manufacturers to offer domestic apps to consumers.

Since then, Apple and the Russian government have been engaged in a protracted struggle, with Apple initially agreeing to display a list of recommended domestic apps during the setup process of new iPhones in Russia. However, tensions intensified in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, leading Apple to halt product sales and exports to the country and remove several Russian news apps from its App Stores outside Russia.

In September of that year, Apple also removed apps from a Russian technology company following British sanctions. In 2023, Russia mandated the preinstallation of the state-backed MAX messenger and the RuStore app marketplace on all new smartphones and tablets sold within the country. Despite Apple's initial refusal to comply with these requirements, the company reportedly made partial concessions, such as allowing a Russian search engine to be preinstalled on iOS 26.6.

Nonetheless, Apple has yet to adhere to the mandates concerning MAX and RuStore. Consequently, Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service has ordered the tech giant to address what it perceives as discriminatory treatment of domestic software by July 15. As of now, the potential penalties that Apple may face in case Russia determines a violation of its competition laws remain undisclosed.