US judge grills Apple’s Tim Cook in final minutes of Epic trial

United States District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers needles Apple CEO Tim Cook on why the iPhone maker will not give users the option to buy lower-priced virtual goods and content directly from developers.

Apple Inc.’s chances of winning an antitrust trial brought by Epic Games Inc. appeared less certain Friday after the judge grilled chief executive officer Tim Cook over whether his company runs its app marketplace in a competitive way. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers needled Cook on why the iPhone maker won’t give users the option to buy lesser-priced virtual goods and content directly from developers — and only allows purchases through Apple’s own App Store, an issue at the heart of the case. In his first time testifying in a trial, Cook answered questions for more than two hours in federal court in Oakland, California, as a three-week trial in the high-stakes battle between the companies winds toward its close.