Can't google just block installs from websites in a future android update?
I don't want my kid to install apps from websites...
Google will lose $50M or more in 2018 from Fortnite bypassing the Play Store
31–40 of 219 posts
Re: Google will lose $50M or more in 2018 from Fortnite bypassing the Play Store
#32"Unlike Apple, which only allows apps to be downloaded from its own storefront, Google’s platform is more open." Oh the irony. Android is more open than iOS and yet its Google that EU found to be at fault with Android. How is this not a classic example that, if anything, Android provides a more open platform?
To put it simply, Apple's actions would not be tolerated if they were in a dominant position, as defined by market share not revenue or any other metric.
In general, reasonable societies don't want all businesses subjected to fairness rules, only the ones whose unfairness can be harmful. This is because being subjected to some of these fairness rules is a hindrance to small company growth. They have chosen to use volume as a metric to determine the size at which these rules kick in. It would be tough to argue that other metrics, such as revenue, should be used to determine size because volume determines the number of people affected not cost.
Re: Google will lose $50M or more in 2018 from Fortnite bypassing the Play Store
#33"Unlike Apple, which only allows apps to be downloaded from its own storefront, Google’s platform is more open." Oh the irony. Android is more open than iOS and yet its Google that EU found to be at fault with Android. How is this not a classic example that, if anything, Android provides a more open platform?
Apple aren't doing anything to prevent competition with their platform. Google are/were. It's that simple. iOS is a closed platform, and Android is a more open platform, but that's 100% orthogonal to Apple or Google's _business practices_. Closed platforms are not illegal, while anticompetitive behaviour is.
Can you explain to me how the Apple Maps limitation of Siri is not anti-competitive? I believe you are right but I am curious as a layman.
Re: Google will lose $50M or more in 2018 from Fortnite bypassing the Play Store
#34Just curious why in China there are several app stores for Android (Tencent, 360, Baidu etc), while the rest of the world uses mainly Google Play Store?
Re: Google will lose $50M or more in 2018 from Fortnite bypassing the Play Store
#35"Unlike Apple, which only allows apps to be downloaded from its own storefront, Google’s platform is more open." Oh the irony. Android is more open than iOS and yet its Google that EU found to be at fault with Android. How is this not a classic example that, if anything, Android provides a more open platform?
It's (unfortunately) not illegal anywhere to have non-open platforms. It is illegal in the EU to use the dominant market position of one product to push another product in an anticompetitive manner. The latter is what Google got done for in the EU. You might think what Apple does is worse, and should be illegal, but that would be a separate hypothetical law.
Is this not what happens with the bundling of Mail, Calendar and Music in iOS and the fact that many default actions and integrations for these apps in iOS are not available to alternatives?
Re: Google will lose $50M or more in 2018 from Fortnite bypassing the Play Store
#36"Unlike Apple, which only allows apps to be downloaded from its own storefront, Google’s platform is more open." Oh the irony. Android is more open than iOS and yet its Google that EU found to be at fault with Android. How is this not a classic example that, if anything, Android provides a more open platform?
Apple isn't absuing its monopoly in one area to force phone manufacturers who license its software to include inessential software that helps increase its market share in others.
In no small part, because Apple doesn't license its software to other manufacturers, and doesn't have a monopoly on mobile devices operating systems in Europe.
The EU sanctioned Microsoft for forcing manfuacturers to include Internet Explorer, even though Windows is an open platform and users could download competing browsers.
Re: Google will lose $50M or more in 2018 from Fortnite bypassing the Play Store
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's incredibly pain free to spend money on the google store. Just throw your fingerprint on there and who knows how much you've spent.
the fingerprint reading API (not sure the name in Google's world) isn't dependent on Google Play Services, is it? If it isn't, in theory they could still implement it to be the confirmation for purchasing I'd imagine.
Totally. I'm just saying google play is convenient.
Re: Google will lose $50M or more in 2018 from Fortnite bypassing the Play Store
#38I can't imagine that 100% of the people interested in fortnite for android are willing to sideload the apk. I would be surprised if this wasn't having a net-negative impact on the total number of android users. I wonder if this is just to avoid paying a percentage on in-app purchases? What else could it be?
Epic, well Tim Sweeney, bemoaned Microsoft for pushing to get developers to release apps/games within their store. I think Epic feels, and probably rightly so, that they can go the direct route and come out okay.
And if they judged incorrectly, they can always distribute it in the store later. Much easier to add it to Google Play than remove it from Google Play from a PR standpoint.
Re: Google will lose $50M or more in 2018 from Fortnite bypassing the Play Store
#39The framing of this article feels weird to me. Google offers a service (distribution), and it just so happens Fortnite doesn't need it. It also completely ignores how much Fortnite will lose from people who don't install it because they can't figure out how. A better way would be "Fortnite is big enough to bypass Google and still make $180MM", rather than acting like this is Google's fault. I mean, the fact that phon…
Good job TechCrunch.
Re: Google will lose $50M or more in 2018 from Fortnite bypassing the Play Store
#40Can't google just block installs from websites in a future android update? I don't want my kid to install apps from websites...
By default it is blocked although it's usually one of the first things I turn off. I always have at least one or two apps that aren't on the play store.
I hope that Google doesn't block this feature and turn entirely into a walled garden.