iPhone Antitrust Lawsuit: Apple Monopoly Class Action Investigation

Last Updated on September 9, 2026

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Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have finished their investigation into this matter. Check back for any potential updates. You can also sign up for our free newsletter for the latest in class action news and settlements. 

If you still have questions about your rights, contact an attorney in your area as there is a time limit for filing all lawsuits. The information on this page was posted when the investigation began and is now for reference only.

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At A Glance

This Alert Affects:
Anyone who purchased a new iPhone from a wireless carrier or retailer other than Apple since March 23, 2020 in one of the states mentioned below.
What’s Going On?
Lawsuits have been filed claiming that consumers have overpaid for iPhones due to Apple’s allegedly anticompetitive scheme to build a monopoly in the smartphone market. Attorneys working with ClassAction.org now want to speak with affected iPhone buyers in certain states to help strengthen the litigation.
Which States?
Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
How Could a Lawsuit Help?
If successful, a class action lawsuit against Apple could help iPhone buyers get back money they allegedly overpaid for their smartphones and force Apple to change its practices.

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are looking to strengthen an existing iPhone antitrust lawsuit filed against Apple and would like to speak with people in certain states who purchased new iPhones from carriers or retailers other than Apple anytime since March 23, 2020.

According to the Apple antitrust lawsuit, Apple has built an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market through anticompetitive practices that aim to “lock in” consumers and make it prohibitively difficult and expensive for them to switch to a competitor smartphone once they’ve purchased an iPhone. The Apple monopoly lawsuit alleges that Apple’s “lock in” scheme is not based on making its products more attractive but instead works by discouraging and preventing innovation that would threaten Apple’s dominance in the smartphone market.

The iPhone class action claims that Apple’s allegedly anticompetitive scheme has resulted in fewer choices for consumers, less innovation, lower quality smartphones and higher prices.

The Apple iPhone antitrust lawsuit aims to help consumers recover some of the money they spent on allegedly overpriced iPhones and force Apple to discontinue any anticompetitive practices.

As part of their investigation, the attorneys want to speak with people in the following states who bought a new iPhone from a carrier or retailer (not directly from Apple) since March 23, 2020:

  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • Hawaii
  • Illinois
  • Iowa
  • Maryland
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Vermont
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin

What Is the Apple iPhone Antitrust Lawsuit About?

The Apple iPhone antitrust lawsuit alleges that the tech behemoth’s smartphone platform and ecosystem are essentially a “walled garden” cultivated by Apple’s monopolization of the performance smartphone market and the broader smartphone market.

Although the iPhone’s “cutting-edge technology” initially gave Apple a competitive advantage, the company has since bolstered and maintained its dominance in these markets not through innovation but by using its market power to “thwart and frustrate” technology that could threaten its position, the lawsuit alleges.

According to the lawsuit, Apple developed a “lock in” strategy to keep customers entrenched in its iPhone ecosystem by making it difficult and expensive to switch to a competitor smartphone. Moreover, Apple has pressured consumers to buy iPhones by “erect[ing] a gauntlet of interoperability obstacles” that make it frustrating and cumbersome for non-Apple smartphones to interact with iPhones, the lawsuit alleges.

The iPhone antitrust lawsuit alleges that the five “pillars” of Apple’s lock-in scheme include the following:

  • hampering the development of “super apps” that enable cross-platform use and allow consumers to easily switch between smartphone platforms;
  • suppressing cloud-streaming gaming services that would let consumers play games without being “locked” into a device;
  • degrading the quality and security of messaging between iPhones and competing smartphones;
  • diminishing the functionality of non-Apple smartwatches and blocking interoperability between the Apple Watch and non-Apple smartphones like Android; and
  • limiting third-party digital wallets by preventing them from using tap-to-pay functionality.

Essentially, the Apple iPhone antitrust lawsuit alleges that the reason why the iPhone is so expensive is not because it is superior to competing products but because Apple has illegally used its market power to block innovative competitors and stifle technology that would threaten its monopoly. From the complaint:

In a competitive market, Apple would compete aggressively to support the development of popular apps and accessories for iPhone users, which would in turn make iPhones more attractive to users and more valuable. But Apple takes steps to delay or suppress cross-platform technologies that it recognizes would be popular with users, such as super apps and cloud-streaming apps, because of the threat they pose to Apple’s smartphone monopolies.”

The Apple iPhone antitrust lawsuit claims that Apple’s anticompetitive practices have resulted in consumers paying artificially high prices for “less functional” iPhones.

The case is titled Apple Inc. Smartphone Antitrust Litigation and consolidates this lawsuit along with many similar antitrust lawsuits filed against Apple.

Apple is also facing an antitrust lawsuit filed in March 2024 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and 16 state attorneys general. The DOJ Apple lawsuit similarly claims the company has illegally maintained a monopoly in the smartphone market by selectively restricting developers, and withholding “critical access points” from them. In June 2025, District Judge Julien Xavier Neals denied Apple’s motion to dismiss the DOJ’s lawsuit, meaning that the DOJ is entitled to seek discovery from Apple to test its allegations.

How Could an iPhone Antitrust Lawsuit Help?

If successful, the Apple antitrust lawsuit could help iPhone buyers get back some of the money they spent on their iPhones. It could also force Apple to stop any anticompetitive practices.

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