Google Play service fee reduced to 15% for the first $1M/year • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Play service fee reduced to 15% for the first $1M/year

#91

Post by londons_explore » Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 9:59 AM UTC

guytv wrote: post #87

cat_plus_plus wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know that Android is open source and you can just sideload apps, install a 3rd party app store or replace entire OS with your own ROM right? What, your app/game is not valuable enough to the user to bother with unless it's a single click install without having to enter credit card? Well... Basically - Situation is not at all the same as with iOS - There is too much emphasis on friction-less low value installs and…

> You know that Android is open source... Technically Android is OpenSource. De-facto - its not. For many many years now Google is adding all non-os functionality into "support" libraries, "Google Services" - the name changes periodically - but the essence is the same: Making sure that any Android that is not "Google certified" won't be able to run Android apps - which all use these libraries - and won't have apps su…

But there is an opensource implementation of those support services (microg) which work for most apps.

Re: Google Play service fee reduced to 15% for the first $1M/year

#92

Post by dbrgn » Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 10:15 AM UTC

koonsolo wrote: post #77

Crazyontap wrote: post #74

I sometimes wonder if Apple didn't come up with this model of charging devs 30% even Google wouldn't have too. These companies often end up with similar policies. But that one greedy kid showed everyone how easy it is to leech off on hard work of devs (who are also to be blame as we happily agreed to this BS) and now it's a common practice. If safari browser had a Safari store with 30% cut pretty sure chrome extensio…

30% is pretty common, just look at Steam. You can download and install games on you Windows machine straight from any website. Yet Steam was able to take a 30% cut and be very successful. The fact remains that developers are very happy to give 30% when their sales increase with a few factors.

That argument may be valid for Steam. But Google Play is a de-facto monopoly and the Apple App Store is a full (and enforced) monopoly. They can charge 30% because there is no viable alternative for the developers.

Re: Google Play service fee reduced to 15% for the first $1M/year

#93

Post by bryanrasmussen » Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 10:26 AM UTC

nmfisher wrote: post #36

danShumway wrote: post #24

Further evidence that developer pressure and legal pressure on smartphone platforms work, that they aren't a waste of time. Prolonged campaigns for better terms can make a tangible difference, and we should be encouraged by this result to advocate for even better terms. It turns out that when they have real pressure, it is possible for Google and Apple to come up with better terms. Keep in mind that the reason Google…

> Further evidence that developer pressure and legal pressure on smartphone platforms work, that they aren't a waste of time. Sure, if you're Epic. For the rest of us minnows, we just have to play the hand we're dealt.

Surely that can't be right, Steve Ballmer once did a long dance number to convince me I was important to Microsoft.

Re: Google Play service fee reduced to 15% for the first $1M/year

#94

Post by DeusExMachina » Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 10:42 AM UTC

enos_feedler wrote: post #73

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #11

Worth remembering that as good as it is that Google is reducing it's abusive taxation on third party developers, the primary reason they're doing this is to try to quiet the majority of developers asking for stronger government regulations against this taxation without actually reducing their profit much, since the large companies which bring in the majority of revenue still have to pay full price. Basically, they're…

The primary reason they are doing it is because Apple did it. Same goes for every other rev share change that Apple has implemented.

That still poses the question: why did Apple do it? I believe the reasons are the ones explained by the parent comment.

Also, I don't think Google mindlessly copies anything Apple does. Sure, part of it is pure competition. But I'm sure they also evaluated the reasons behind Apple's decision.

Re: Google Play service fee reduced to 15% for the first $1M/year

#95

Post by saurik » Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 10:43 AM UTC

modeless wrote: post #43

im3w1l wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A third party app store can not automaticly apply updates to apps. The user has to explictly approve every update. This puts the play store in a privileged position of lower ongoing friction.

There was a recent Android blog post that said "we will be making changes in Android 12 (next year's Android release) to make it even easier for people to use other app stores on their devices". https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-...

I bet they only announced that because Epic sued them on these grounds soon before that.

Re: Google Play service fee reduced to 15% for the first $1M/year

#96

Post by andrewshadura » Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 10:49 AM UTC

bdcravens wrote: post #45

cute_boi wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this opensource thing is not so straight as you have explained. In Android these days I find lot of finance app using some proprietarytechnology like google safety net. And most app are using google play services which again is closed source. Android is not true opensource software ...

Snaps in Ubuntu also has proprietary components.

Yes, the store. And advanced functionality is only available to paying users.

Re: Google Play service fee reduced to 15% for the first $1M/year

#97

Post by curt15 » Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 10:57 AM UTC

andrewshadura wrote: post #96

bdcravens wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Snaps in Ubuntu also has proprietary components.

Yes, the store. And advanced functionality is only available to paying users.

"Advanced functionality" such as the ability to take full control of when apps get updated.

Re: Google Play service fee reduced to 15% for the first $1M/year

#98

Post by shimfish » Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 11:04 AM UTC

CGamesPlay wrote: post #13

psaux wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“ The App Store's standard commission rate of 30 percent remains in place for apps selling digital goods and services and making more than $1 million in proceeds, defined as a developer's post-commission earnings” [1] What is convoluted and worse? I am not a mobile Dev at this time, just going by what I see online. Edit: [1] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/11/apple-announces-app-s...

If you make $999k in revenue, you will receive almost $850k in profit. If you make $1000k in revenue, you will instead receive $700k in profit. You're strangely incentivized to completely shut down your app as you approach the 1000k mark, unless you're confident you'll make it past the 1200k mark, where it's worth it again. Silly system.

Not strictly true.

Your earnings after the first 1M in a calendar year will become subject to 30%. Your earnings before that aren't affected.

However, you are then kicked out of the program for the whole following year and can only reapply for the year after that if the next year's earnings are under 1M.

Re: Google Play service fee reduced to 15% for the first $1M/year

#99

Post by guytv » Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 11:04 AM UTC

londons_explore wrote: post #91

guytv wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You know that Android is open source... Technically Android is OpenSource. De-facto - its not. For many many years now Google is adding all non-os functionality into "support" libraries, "Google Services" - the name changes periodically - but the essence is the same: Making sure that any Android that is not "Google certified" won't be able to run Android apps - which all use these libraries - and won't have apps su…

But there is an opensource implementation of those support services (microg) which work for most apps.

oh, nice.

I didn't know about it.

It is a huge undertaking, google has services from "simple" things like location, to complex things like face recognition.

Re: Google Play service fee reduced to 15% for the first $1M/year

#100

Post by shimfish » Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 11:08 AM UTC

matsemann wrote: post #51

> To aid their quest for growth we provide a broad range of support, (...) Funny that it then goes on to list lots of stuff where no human support is actually involved. The support developers want is to get a person to talk to when Google's algorithms ban their app or account for no reason and wrecks their business.

I've been trying for ages to get Google to take down spam/scam apps that use my apps name and screenshots but just add "tips" or "guide" to pretend they're legit.

Nothing doing. Still about 50 imitation apps that come up in their search when looking for my app.