A federal appeals court panel in San Francisco appeared skeptical of Alphabet Inc.’s argument that its competition with Apple Inc. in smartphones is sufficient to justify overturning a jury verdict that declared an illegal monopoly for Android apps.

Epic accused Google in a 2020 lawsuit of monopolizing how consumers access apps on Android devices and how they pay for transactions within apps.

Google is appealing the ruling, arguing 'legal errors' in the original trial. A stay has been granted, delaying the implementation of the remedies while the appeals process proceeds. Google asserts that the judge allowed Epic Games to present a flawed narrative to the jury,