The Google Play Store will allow apps to bill users directly and avoid Alphabet taking the 30% cut the company and Apple have both been bashed for in the past.
Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store traditionally take between 15% and 30% of digital sales inside apps through their billing platforms.
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The rule change will enable Spotify and Bumble to directly bill American users for subscriptions inside their Android apps.
While it will be cheaper, it won’t be free. Google said app developers that opt to directly bill users must still pay a percentage of app sales and service fees to it, albeit it will be 4% less than before.
Experts have said this change could be a step in the right direction for the tech giant.
“The subscription model is something that is continuing to grow, and it makes sense to for companies like Google to make this process easier for end users as they’re the ones that tend to lose out in these situations,” James Malcolm, head of mobile engineering web and mobile product developer xDesign, tells Verdict.
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By GlobalDataBoth Google and Apple have been criticised in the past for taking chunks out of app developers’ profits. The practice was at the heart of Fortnite developer Epic Games’ legal dispute with Apple last year.
James Welch, chief innovation officer at digital marketing and campaign agency Embryo Digital, tells Verdict Google’s app billing changes could compel Apple’s App Store into following suit. Especially if the changes cause iOS users switch to Android.
“[Google’s changes] make arguments for people choosing an Android phone as their next phone a little more appealing,” Welch says. “Whether such a change will see many Apples’ users switch is debatable, but if several high-profile apps are suddenly cheaper on Android than on Apple’s app store, this number will rise. And if several other plays from Google happen around similar issues, then high single, and even double-digit switch percentages could happen.”
Malcolm says if Apple makes similar changes to Google, there would be less push for alternative app stores. It would help improve iOS user experiences along with increased revenue for Apple and app developers.
Apple and Alphabet did not respond to Verdict’s request for comment.
