- xAI announces legal action against Apple for alleged favoritism in the App Store.
- Apple denies the accusations and maintains that its rankings and selections are fair.
- Chat GPT leads the downloads free; Grok is several places below.
- The case is part of a recent history of antitrust pressures and rulings against Apple.
Elon Musk has taken a step forward and has announced that his company Artificial Intelligence, xAI, is preparing to take Apple to court over alleged preferential treatment in the App Store. According to the entrepreneur, The app store would favor rivals like ChatGPT in its rankings and editorial spaces, which in its opinion violates competition regulations.
The conflict erupted after a chain of messages in X, the social network owned by Musk, in which he targeted the classification of apps de IA and the "Must-Haves" recommendations module. In this context, ChatGPT appears as number one among the free downloads for iPhone in the United States, while xAI's app, Grok, is ranked several notches below.
What Musk claims
The founder of xAI maintains that Apple makes it impossible for other AI applications reach the first place in the store, with a preference that - he says - benefits OpenAIIn his posts, Musk announced that his company will take immediate legal action considering that this is an "antitrust violation."
In addition to the dispute over ranking position, Musk questioned editorial visibility in prominent sections of the App Store, implying that both X and Grok are not treated equally. In this dispute, the executive emphasizes that Store display is key to compete in a rapidly evolving AI market.
For now, neither Musk nor xAI have contributed Documentary evidence that directly support his accusations. Various media outlets have attempted to obtain comments from Apple, OpenAI and xAI, without a conclusive response on the substance of the matter.
Apple's response
Apple has rejected the accusations and defends that the App Store "it is fair and free of bias"The company explains that it combines automated charts, algorithmic recommendations and selected editorial lists with objective criteria, with the goal of balancing safe discovery for users and more opportunities for developers.
From Cupertino they insist that collaborate with multiple developers to increase visibility in fast-growing categories, and that rankings may fluctuate depending on real downloads, engagement and quality.
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In the background of the disagreement is the alliance announced by Apple to Integrate ChatGPT into your ecosystem (iOS, iPadOS and macOS), a decision that raises concerns in xAI due to its potential impact on the discovery of AI apps inside the store.
Following that announcement, Musk came to threaten to ban Apple devices in their companies —including X, Tesla and SpaceX—although it was not clear whether he ultimately implemented that measure. The businessman's relationship with OpenAI, moreover, drags friction for some time now, due to the direction and business model of the organization.
What is known about the legal process
As of today, it has not been publicly confirmed. the formal filing of the claimMusk's stance is that he will take "immediate" action, but there is no judicial record that the case is already before a court.
It has not been made public either. an evidentiary record that details how the alleged bias in rankings or selections would operate. Without that material, the debate turns around conflicting statements and the functioning—opaque by design—of the store's algorithms and editorial criteria.
The App Store comes into this clash under scrutiny from authorities and courts for recent cases. In the United States, a federal court ruled that Apple breached a court order which sought to open competition in downloads and payment methods, derived from the antitrust lawsuit of Epic Games.
In Europe, the European Commission imposed on Apple a fine of hundreds of millions for practices that, according to Brussels, restricted the ability of developers to direct users towards external payment options to the App Store. Apple has appealed this sanction before the European courts.
This context of regulatory pressure does not prove xAI's claims, but it does illustrate that the store's policy and its competitive governance are at the center of a global debate that is gaining intensity with the emergence of the Generative AI.
With the positions bitter —Musk demanding changes and Apple defending its system—the focus remains on whether xAI will file a specific lawsuit and what exactly it will allege. Until the case reaches a court And once the evidence is revealed, the fight for the AI podium on the App Store will continue to be fought out between announcements, rankings, and press releases.
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