Today the folks at Sensor Tower delivered a list of top app store downloads for iOS and Android devices for the month of September, 2020. This list has a bunch of entries you'll likely expect, like TikTok and YouTube, but a few that you might've never heard of before, like Snack Video. Suffice to say - we're dealing with a COVID-19 universe in the app market right now: these lists make that very clear.
Google Play fans in countries outside the US haven't always been able to access the Play Pass subscription service. The good news for some in European countries feeling left out is that Google has expanded into 24 additional markets. Previously, Play Pass was available in the US, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Sonos filed a lawsuit against Google this week to further claims of patent infringement with smart speaker products. Sonos claims that a team-up between the companies with the launch of Google Play Music resulted in Google effectively copying Sonos technology for use in smart speakers they'd release years later. This claim comes just before Google's next major event in which the company is expected to reveal one more smart speaker and/or smart audio product that Sonos expects will continue what they consider the company's "disregard for IP."
Google will enforce its in-app payments policy, insisting that developers making digital sales in software distributed through the Google Play store use the official billing system, in a crack-down that follows a high-profile lawsuit with Fortnite developer Epic Games. The announcement - word of which was leaked last week - comes alongside new news about third-party download stores that will be supported in Android 12.
Google may be planning to pull Fediverse apps from the Google Play Store over concerns about hate speech, a new report claims. These apps are designed to connect users with federated servers in a way similar to forum apps designed to connect users to different forums. It seems these apps may have been targeted because they make it possible to access servers that host hate speech, prompting criticism from users.
Google announced a series of updates to Google Play Pass, including a new way to subscribe that cuts costs for long-term users. Google Play Pass is a subscription service that allows users to download and play hundreds of games and apps with no advertisements or in-app purchases. The latest version of the service enables a per-year subscription cost.
For that past year or so, Huawei has been hurriedly setting up the foundations that would allow it to operate a mobile ecosystem even without Google. It has many of those already in place, including its own AppGallery store and Huawei Mobile Services as a stand-in for Google Mobile Services. Now, however, comes the challenge of filling that store with apps that don't rely on Google's APIs and it's enticing interest developers with monetary rewards to do so.
If you want a Huawei phone that has Google Play Store pre-installed, you'll have to be prepared to opt for an older model from early 2019 and prior. But what if you wanted a shiny new phone, you'll have to settle for something that only looks new on the outside. That seems to be the tactic that Huawei is adopting in order to ship a new phone with Google Play services and apps, effectively getting around restrictions placed by the US government.
Thanks to being on the US' entity list, US companies have been barred from doing business with Huawei. The exception that the government has continually made at least allows those companies to support products that were already out in the market before the ban fell. Unsurprisingly, Huawei has found a small loophole that lets it launch a new product that is still actually old, allowing it to make an upcoming P Smart 2020 Edition that, unlike its more expensive contemporaries, will be able to launch with Google Play Store and apps inside.
Epic Games launched Fortnite to Android 18 months ago, without releasing the game to Google Play. The game was released to iOS through the Apple app store, but for Android, Epic Games tried to operate through their own website for app downloads. Epic revealed today that they've decided to launch to Google Play - but why the change of heart?
Google is making it easier for parents to find high-quality Android apps for their kids by introducing a new 'Teacher Approved' badge in the Google Play Store. With this, users can see which kids apps have been flagged as notable by educators, as well as the reasons that particular app was awarded the badge, including the ages it is for, the benefits it offers, and the type of education it provides.
Smartphones have become an essential part of modern life but getting stuck at home made them even more critical. But as more and more people rely on the Internet and mobile devices, the importance of keeping these places safe from not just malware but also misinformation is becoming just as critical. Responding to the global situation, Google is making a few changes to its Google Play rules, especially when it comes to apps that relate to the COVID-19 coronavirus.