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Google is actually reviewing. hosting, promoting and distributing your app, I wouldn’t say that’s nothing. The distribution costs may be minute in the case of

Google is actually reviewing. hosting, promoting and distributing your app, I wouldn’t say that’s nothing. The distribution costs may be minute in the case of this developers app if it’s only downloaded a few thousand times a month, but they exist. And in the case of something like Spotify it’s likely Petabytes a month of bandwidth.

Jochim 6y ago
Google isn't doing that out of the goodness of their heart though, having a robust app ecosystem is essential and they're doing it for their own benefit. I think there's a strong case that it's a big part of the reason iOS and Android ended up winning against the fairly large number of competing phone operating systems. So while it's true that there is a financial cost to Google for hosting your app, there's also a financial gain in the sense that the presence of your app contributes to the popularity/viability of their platform.
- dfee 6y ago
  I don’t know how the “goodness of their heart” is relevant, but I think you’ve just arrived at the concept of a business: revenue, expenses and profit.
  - Jochim 6y ago
    The point is that the issue is often framed as "ungrateful developers" taking advantage of the infrastructure Google provides when in reality developers making use of Google's infrastructure provides value to Google in itself.
croes 6y ago
Aren't apps like Spotify and Netflix the ones where you don't pay through the app but bypass the store? That is, the ones that cost the most don't pay much to Google and Apple but the small developers who can't fight back and rely on the money have no choice.
- hashingroll 6y ago
  Apparently these apps have to integrate their billing systems with Google Play by September. https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-to-developer-feedback-to.html#Blog1:~:text=until%20September%2030%2C%202021 https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-...
  - croes 6y ago
    Wait and see

Jochim 6y ago

Google isn't doing that out of the goodness of their heart though, having a robust app ecosystem is essential and they're doing it for their own benefit. I think there's a strong case that it's a big part of the reason iOS and Android ended up winning against the fairly large number of competing phone operating systems. So while it's true that there is a financial cost to Google for hosting your app, there's also a financial gain in the sense that the presence of your app contributes to the popularity/viability of their platform.

dfee 6y ago
I don’t know how the “goodness of their heart” is relevant, but I think you’ve just arrived at the concept of a business: revenue, expenses and profit.
- Jochim 6y ago
  The point is that the issue is often framed as "ungrateful developers" taking advantage of the infrastructure Google provides when in reality developers making use of Google's infrastructure provides value to Google in itself.

croes 6y ago

Aren't apps like Spotify and Netflix the ones where you don't pay through the app but bypass the store? That is, the ones that cost the most don't pay much to Google and Apple but the small developers who can't fight back and rely on the money have no choice.

hashingroll 6y ago
Apparently these apps have to integrate their billing systems with Google Play by September. https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-to-developer-feedback-to.html#Blog1:~:text=until%20September%2030%2C%202021 https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/listening-...
- croes 6y ago
  Wait and see