On June 4, Apple lost badly in court, again, a situation to which the $3tn tech giant is becoming increasingly accustomed. To make matters worse, the underlying case is a landmark ruling that effectively dismantles Apple's ability to control payments in its application ecosystem. The company's Great Wall of Subscriptions has finally been breached and the barbarians are pouring in with vigour and alacrity.

The case in question – Epic Games Inc vs Apple Inc – is a civil antitrust case that has been winding its way through US courts for the better part of the decade. It's a complex and multifaceted case, but the recent judgments are easy to grasp: Apple may no longer prevent the owners of applications hosted on its platforms from collecting payments outside of its ecosystem.