Overview
- Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service opened a formal antitrust case on Monday after finding that Apple did not comply with orders to preinstall the state-backed MAX messenger and the RuStore app marketplace.
- The probe follows Apple’s removal of MAX and other VK-developed apps in June, a step the company said was required to comply with international sanctions.
- Apple made a partial change by allowing a Russian search engine to be preinstalled in iOS 26.6 but did not implement the specific preinstalls for MAX or RuStore that regulators demanded.
- Apple has not sold devices directly in Russia since March 2022 and Apple services and payments have been unavailable in the country since an Apple Ireland sanction fine in March 2026, which complicates how Russian rules are applied.
- If found in violation, Apple could face up to 4 billion rubles in fines, a move that could force choices about restoring apps to the Russian App Store or further reduce Apple functionality for Russian users and third-party sellers.