• paperBark@slrpnk.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    edit-2
    5 hours ago

    not something most normal people will ever do

    ≠ not able to.

    Therefore, no monopoly.

    Any idiot with stock android can already sideload apps and/or download an alternative app store to manage their apps like fdroid, et al. No custom rom needed, lets not make this seem more complex than it is. Just cause most people don’t make use of that ability does not mean google has an app store monopoly that needs to be legislated away.

    Ofc playstore will come preinstalled on android phones; they aren’t trying to make Apple remove the app store entirely as the default either? That’s a false equivalency. The problem is there is no alternative option to release and monetize apps available on Apple AT ALL.

    I agree google’s playstore policies are strangling app developers for no reason and it sucks but thats not the same situation as with Apple. Android devs can already release via alternate means if they take issue, many just choose to whine and continue only releasing via play store anyways.

    Nothing says you have to publish your app on playstore if you don’t want to deal with their policies. You already can monetize your app by any means you want outside of playstore infrastructure on android, again nothing to legislate away like with Apple. Whether that is by purchased licenses (optional ones too like grayjay comes to mind) or donations or whatever. Plenty of successful apps are not available on play store at all due to policies (fdroid for example) and if google keeps making it more difficult for devs to publish on the play store in general maybe more devs will get fed up and join that group.

    • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      5 hours ago

      ≠ not able to.

      Therefore, no monopoly.

      Thats not how that works. When the largest established player in an industry sector pays off or buys all the competition then thats a monopoly. Thats what Google has been doing for years and thats why they are getting sued.

      Ofc playstore will come preinstalled on android phones

      But they have also pushed other android phone manufacturers not to create their own app stores. Another anticompetitive thing that shows up in lawsuits.

      Anyways its weird that you think you have a better idea of what constitutes a monopoly, when they are, at this moment, in the process of being sued for being exactly that.