Four ways your Android phone’s Play Store could soon change if Google loses its epic appeal
After a years-long legal battle that started in 2020, Epic Games has finally come out ahead of Google with one American judge makes final decision that the Android maker should open the Play Store to third-party rivals.
Many details emerge from the statement. That’s why we’ve grouped the most important ones below into four sections to explain what the judge’s decision means for you.
However, there are two important things to note. The first is that Google has announced that it will appeal the verdict, adding a statement that it will “ask the courts to pause the implementation of the remedies to maintain a consistent and safe experience for users and developers as the legal process progresses.”
So while the following changes may happen, they are less likely to happen for some time (until the appeal process is complete) or not at all (if Google’s appeal is successful).
The other important detail is that this ruling would only hold Google in the US to these new rules for three years – from November 1, 2024 to November 1, 2027. When the deadline passes, we suspect Google won’t waste any time returning the Play Store what it was like before the ruling, but we’ll have to wait and see. And if you live outside the US, Google doesn’t have to change anything unless other similar statements are made there.
1. More choice
The biggest change for Android users will be that they will have more choice in which app store they want to use, and it will be easier to find those third-party stores.
That’s because Google will have to distribute these third-party store rivals through Google Play – so you no longer have to go through the hassle of finding and downloading a third-party APK. Your phone warns that installing a non-existent APK could be dangerous. App store from Google Play Store.
This also won’t be one of those choices where it’s not really a choice, as one option is clearly superior because it has all the apps. As part of the ruling, Google must offer these new rival stores full access to the entire Google Play Store software catalog. It is up to app developers alone to individually opt out of appearing in non-Play Stores.
2. No exclusivity deals
In that regard, the ruling prohibits Google from incentivizing developers to launch exclusively on the Play Store or incentivizing them to launch on the Play Store first; Google also shouldn’t incentivize developers not to launch their apps on competing stores (somewhat tricky wording, but it should avoid loopholes in the exclusivity agreement).
Google also cannot pay device manufacturers or cell phone carriers to pre-install the Play Store or not to pre-install a third-party app store.
One thing that doesn’t seem to break the rules, however, is offering incentives to developers to push users to one store, such as in-app purchase offers, or Google offering exclusive discounts. This could be a big win for us as you can get a better deal by changing your app store, but we’ll have to see how this plays out.
3. Alternative payment systems
Google will also no longer be able to link Google Play Store apps to its Google Play Billing system – a system that charges app makers a 30% fee on sales. It should also let Android app makers operate and promote alternative payment systems, and allow them to set the prices they want regardless of the Google Play Billing price.
This means that developers can still use Google Play Billing, but also have their own billing option and charge different amounts for each – ideally less if we don’t use Play Store Billing.
This could also force Google to change how it distributes revenue through Google Play Billing, perhaps making it less of a bad deal for app makers.
4. Security should not change
All this talk about third-party app stores doesn’t necessarily mean that the security of your Android device is adversely affected, despite what Google claims. That’s not to say you shouldn’t still be careful when downloading apps you don’t recognize – bad actors can even end up on the official Play Store from time to time – but Google can still take “reasonable measures” that are described as “strictly necessary and narrowly tailored” to maintain the safety and security of Google Play as it opens to rival stores.
These measures will be “similar” to those it currently has in place on the Play Store and should prevent an unreliable third-party app store from running amok. Google may even charge a fee for these security efforts, with any disputes in these cases being overseen by a technical committee that will be appointed by both Google and Epic.