Google Play Store

In late August, South Korea passed a law requiring alternate in-app payment systems in Google Play and the iOS App Store. Google today detailed what steps it will be taking to comply. 

As the penultimate month of this year gets underway, the Google Play Store is opening Users’ Choice voting for the best Android content and media of 2021.

After Microsoft announced that Android apps would be natively supported in Windows 11, it was only a matter of time before the Google Play Store was enabled on the OS. As it turns out, that time was just a couple of weeks, as a clever workaround has already enabled the functionality.

Back in March, Google Play announced that it was cutting commission fees to 15% on the first $1 million in revenue from paid apps and in-app purchases (IAPs) for all Android developers. Google announced today that next year, the Play Store will only take a 15% cut on all subscriptions from day one. 

Back in May, Google announced a new Play Store requirement to have Android apps detail how they collect and use personal information. The Google Play “Data safety” section will go live in February as developers will soon be able to fill out the necessary information.

Last year the hit game Fortnite was briefly available on Android through the Google Play Store, until Epic Games kicked off its war against app store fees by adding its own payment system to the game behind the backs of Google and Apple. Now, Google is launching a countersuit against Epic Games for that breach of contract.

Google’s Material You rollout continues with the Play Store over the last 24 hours, but this redesign is not too visually encompassing ye and availability is quite limited.

Google’s wearable platform is seeing a big push in the coming months with more new devices expected to accompany the revamped OS. As part of this, a “Health Services” app for Wear OS is now available in the Play Store.

The next version of Google’s wearable platform has now properly arrived and it will be experienced by more users in the coming months. Ahead of that, Google is introducing updated app quality guidelines for Wear OS 3.

Google officially announced the Play Store’s Material Theme in August 2019, while a dark mode came that October. Since then, pages like “Manage apps & devices,” settings, and navigation have been significantly revamped. A Material You redesign with Dynamic Color is what’s next for the Google Play Store, and here’s an early look. 

Google Play today announced that Android app ratings will be localized by country and device type to make the star count “more personalized and indicative of the experience each individual user can expect.”

At the start of this month, a revamped Google Play started appearing on Wear OS. Google today officially announced this Material You redesign of the Play Store and that the ability to install Wear OS apps to your from your phone is rolling out.

The Google TV Setup app has quietly arrived on the Play Store, even though it comes pre-installed on devices such as the Chromecast with Google TV.

In addition to previewing the “Safety Section,” Google today issued the latest set of Play Policies. One upcoming change will see Google close inactive Play Store developer accounts “after 1 year of dormancy and additional factors.” 

Back in May, Google announced that all developers in the Play Store will have to fill out a new “safety section” that’s set to appear in app listings next year. Aimed at letting users see what data an application collects and shares, Google provided more details about this new policy today.