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New rules on smartphone app stores could trigger a storm of creative and cheaper applications with better privacy and security developments, ending the Google and Apple app store monopoly over the tech market. Recently, reports have revealed that Google has reached an agreement with US developers which will allow consumers to access services outside the company's Play Store, enabling a huge shift in the app store economy which is also being dominated by Apple.
Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. has decided to provide around US$90 million to help developers who have earned US$2 million annually or even less than that through the company's app store, between the years 2016 to 2021. But the company will still charge a 15% fee on the first US$1 million that they will earn post-Play Store developments. These initiatives appear soon after both Google and Apple continue to face massive lawsuits and political scrutiny over the commissions and billing restrictions that are applicable to the paid service in their apps.
This new initiative reflects a similar agreement that Apple made last year with small developers, who demanded changes to how these app stores worked. Quite similar to the new Google agreement, Apple also permitted its developers to advertise lower pricing outside of its App Store directly to users through email or other communication support. This change was initially a part of the Japanese Trade Commission pact which enabled developers to cross the staggering 15% fee which Apple was already charging.
Tech analysts believe that the involvement of third-party stores in the app store domain could give rise to different rules that might be easier to maintain and might enable developers to earn more money from the other apps that they will be able to sell. Earlier, independent developers were being tracked by Google and Apple, but these changes might produce new opportunities for big tech developers and enhance their individual careers.
