It turns out that showing up over a month late to the courtroom wasn't exactly a power move.

Jobs’ Mob wanted to defend a $20 billion annual payout from Google, which happily threw that cash at Apple to remain the default search engine on Safari. The logic is simple: users don’t change defaults, and Google gets a captive audience.

But the Department of Justice doesn't think that's fair play—especially when you're sitting on 90 per cent of the search market and pretending it’s all just the result of innovation.

Google lost the case in August 2024, and the government proposed remedies in October.

Apple, realising too late that the antitrust blowback might crater its easy-money search deal, tried to elbow its way into the courtroom after the penalties were already proposed.

The judges were not having any of it, muttering that it was “Difficult to justify” and left Tim Cook’s legal eagles to file friendly memos and watch from the cheap seats.

According to MediaPost, the appeals court took issue with Apple's delay in taking a stance. It didn't even file its participation in the remedy phase until November, some 33 days after the initial proposal.

This leaves Apple in a bit of a pickle. They could keep Google Search as default without the cash, but that’s like letting someone crash on your couch for free after they used to pay half the rent. Alternatively, Job’s Mob might start speed-dating other search engines, such as Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Kagi.

However, with regulators circling and Google’s monopoly under scrutiny, the days of backroom billions for search slots may be numbered. As for Apple’s influence in the courtroom—it turns out you can’t just show up whenever you fancy, even if you wear a black turtleneck.