5 days ago
Starting connected July 22, third-party app stores will beryllium capable to entree Google’s app catalog.
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Third-party app stores are coming to Android phones successful nan US soon. Google has launched a dedicated page for its Play Catalog Access Program, announcing that third-party US Android app stores will beryllium capable to entree nan Play store's catalog of apps starting connected July 22. It has besides notified developers that nan app and crippled listings they submitted to Google will beryllium made disposable to outer Android app stores, which will beryllium capable to connection their products to users.
App downloads done nan third-party stores will still beryllium completed done Google Play. The company's work fees will besides use to apps downloaded done nan outer stores. Google said successful its announcements that it's implementing nan alteration to comply pinch a tribunal order, which came from its lengthy ineligible conflict against Epic Games.
Google and Epic reached a settlement successful November 2025, filing a modified type of nan bid US District Judge James Donato primitively imposed connected Google erstwhile it mislaid nan case. In March, they revealed that their modified colony progressive nan motorboat of a "Registered App Stores" program. Third-party stores that registry pinch nan programme "will person a much simplified installation flow" arsenic sideloaded apps. In different words, they'll beryllium easier to instal than unregistered stores, but they'll still person to beryllium sideloaded. Google is doing distant pinch that plan.
According to The Verge, nan companies withdrew their modified colony and will nary longer reason it successful tribunal connected July 16. With the Play Catalog Access Program, third-party app stores will beryllium downloadable from wrong Google Play itself.
"We've agreed pinch Epic to retreat our mobility to modify nan US Court's injunction alternatively than prolonging this process which creates uncertainty for nan ecosystem," Google spokesperson Dan Jackson told The Verge. "This allows america to attraction connected executing our precocious announced world business exemplary improvement to present greater app shop choice, little prices, and much opportunities for developers and users. We stay committed to maintaining Android's industry-leading information and fostering a competitory ecosystem wherever each app shop and developer has nan state to compete. In parallel, we proceed to comply pinch nan US Court's injunction."
Third-party app stores will person to salary google an upfront work interest of $5,000 for information reappraisal during onboarding, arsenic good arsenic $5,000 each twelvemonth to support entree to nan Play catalog of apps. They will besides person to meet a lengthy group of requirements, nan astir important of which is that their shop must target users successful nan US. In fact, they legally can't use the Play catalog to administer apps to users extracurricular of nan United States.
In summation to opening up Android to third-party stores, Google besides opened nan Play store to extracurricular billing and lowered its committee for app purchases from 30 percent to 10 percent, arsenic portion of its colony pinch Epic Games. Developers tin now connection replacement payments aliases nexus users to their ain websites for acquisition wrong their app aliases crippled listings.
