Education
Google says Android 12 would make it easier to use third-party app stores
Google is outlining new improvements to its developer policy and is promising to make the use of third-party app stores simpler on Android 12. The announcement addresses recent concerns about the growth of Android applications, including the battle over alternative in-app payment mechanisms and difficulties for companies moving online because of COVID-19.
Android users can already install apps from third-party stores like Samsung's Galaxy Store. Google says that in response to developer feedback, it's adding features to next year's Android 12 update that will make it even easier for people to use other app stores on their devices while being careful not to weaken the security measures Android has in place. More information on these improvements will be published in the future.
Google, on the other hand, is not easing its hold on in-app purchases for Play Store users. The company states that all developers selling digital products in their apps are expected to use the Google Play billing system, and it's tweaking the language in its payment policy to make it explicit. Any app that does not already use the digital goods framework will be needed to incorporate it by 30 September 2021.
This was a sticking point for the Epic Games, whose title Fortnite was released from the Play Store in August, after Epic introduced support for an alternative billing system. Fortnite is actually only accessible via third-party retailers and Epic 's website, and Google doesn't seem to back up — specifically referring to Fortnite as an illustration of how even if the developer and Google don't agree on business terms the developer may still sell on the Android platform.
There is one especially complicated in-app purchasing category: businesses that have begun to let users sell "virtual" versions of their usual non-digital products during the coronavirus pandemic. These firms, including Airbnb and ClassPass, complained that they had been asked to pay a new service charge on iOS.
Apple has started to waive these fees in certain cases, and Google says these companies won't have to use Google Play billing for Android in the near future. We understand that the global pandemic has resulted in many companies needing to solve the complexities of bringing their physical companies to digital markets in a different way, such as shifting on-site experiences and online courses, he said. These organizations will not have to comply with our payment policy over the next 12 months, and we will continue to reassess the situation over the next year.
