Google will hide outdated Android apps to improve security

Google will start hiding outdated apps on the Play Store in a bid to improve security.

With almost three million apps hosted on the Play Store, keeping Android’s three billion users protected is a gargantuan task.

Given the scale of the challenge, Google’s AI-powered security does an admirable job. However, Google’s system is far from perfect and software that poses a threat to users does slip through.

Sometimes the apps that slip past Google’s security...

7 April 2022 | Android

CAF report highlights developers’ plight from anti-competitive practices

A report from the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) highlights the difficulties that developers face due to anti-competitive practices.

CAF is an independent nonprofit with over 60 member companies that advocates for freedom of choice and fair competition across the app ecosystem. Epic Games, which has regularly made headlines for its court battles against Apple over alleged anti-competitive practices, is one of CAF’s founding members.

The industry group is currently...

1 February 2022 | Android

App Annie: Users downloaded 230B apps in 2021, spent 3.8T hours using them

A report from App Annie highlights the staggering growth the mobile app ecosystem witnessed last year.

According to the analytics firm’s State of Mobile 2022 report, users downloaded around 230 billion apps in 2021.

Theodore Krantz, Chief Executive Officer of App Annie, said:

“The big screen is slowly dying as mobile continues to break records in virtually every category - time spent, downloads and revenue.”

Chinese users downloaded the most...

12 January 2022 | Android

Google: Android app engagement on Chrome OS is growing 50% YoY

As we barrel towards 2022, Google has released some interesting statistics about its platforms over the past year.

The demand for software has grown over the past couple of years as enterprises and employees adapt to new ways of working and continuing business in a rapidly-changing world. As consumers, many of us are spending more time at home and relying on software to entertain us and make our lives easier.

Chromebooks are often associated with students as they’re...

21 December 2021 | Android

Google slashes its Play Store cut for more developers

Google has announced that it’s following the industry trend and slashing its cut of Play Store sales for more developers.

The previous 70/30 cut was once the industry standard for app stores but has faced increasing backlash over the years from both developers and regulators. Critics have long argued that the stores have abused their market position to take an unfair cut.

Epic Games was the first major player to disrupt the model with the launch of the Epic Store,...

25 October 2021 | Android

Developers can finally release their own Tiles for Wear OS

Google continues to remind us that it hasn’t forgotten about Wear OS and will now allow developers to release their own Tiles for the wearable platform.

After years of relatively minor updates, many people wondered if Google was giving up on wearables. Then, in May, Samsung announced that it was ditching Tizen for its upcoming Galaxy Watch 4 and would be joining forces with Google to reboot and co-develop Wear OS.

Naturally, long-suffering fans have been given a spark...

11 August 2021 | API

Google announces raft of Play Store security policy updates

Google has announced a number of changes to its Play Store security policies that will come into effect over the coming year.

Starting in September, a new section will be added to Google’s Enforcement policy that will mean inactive or otherwise abandoned developer accounts will be closed after one year of dormancy.

October will see various policies introduced on different dates.

On 15 October, the Device and Network Abuse policy will be clarified to prohibit...

30 July 2021 | Android

Windows 11’s app store supports Android apps, enables devs to keep 100% of profits

Microsoft has unveiled Windows 11 along with a new app store that supports Android apps and enables devs to keep all of their profits.

Windows’ built-in app store has never exactly been a huge success when compared to those of Apple and Google. Microsoft has made several attempts over the years to give its app store a jumpstart – including giving developers up to a 95 percent cut of profits instead of the 70 percent that has long been the industry norm – but it’s never...

24 June 2021 | App Stores

Google is surveying developers to find the OEMs that aggressively kill apps

Google is surveying its developer community as part of what appears to be a bid to crackdown on OEMs that aggressively kill apps.

Key factors in most consumers’ smartphone purchase decisions include how fast the device feels and its battery life. To make their devices feel snappy and full of life, OEMs often aggressively kill apps more than Google intended.

Google doesn’t seem happy about that. And it shouldn’t be, the company has put a lot of work into features...

14 June 2021 | Android