6 ms·

To get rid of shovelware, Google should just add a search filter that allows filtering for "No In-App Purchases" and "Doesnt show ads" plus a "Costs money (no s

To get rid of shovelware, Google should just add a search filter that allows filtering for "No In-App Purchases" and "Doesnt show ads" plus a "Costs money (no subscription)". But something tells me thats only good for the user, not the business.

ssl232 3y ago
You need F-Droid. It's not a silver bullet but the high ranked apps on there are great.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
63 3y ago
They could also start ordering search results by relevancy or quality instead of propensity to make money, but that won't happen either
- michaelmrose 3y ago
  It is so bad that in the official play store app ads potentially for competitors or irrelevant apps will appear before the item even when you search for the entire name of the app. This means that devs are incentivized to buy ads for their own name lest their competitor be listed first and if they don't you might well download malware. On net the play store is 100% useless because of ads and poor search. The only way to adequately search for apps is by using an actual search engine, even googles, in your mobile browser to find apps and then using the play store solely for installation. The play store is a product so bad if it wasn't required to install software it would have no users. It is the windows ME of google's product lines. It is so bad that Google ought to be embarrassed to show it off in public.
KeplerBoy 3y ago
Do these apps even exist anymore? I feel like they never really did on Android and are a dieing breed on iOS. Of course them being hard to find on the store, is part of why they don't exist in the first place. Fixing that would help.
- rchaud 3y ago
  Don't try to find that needle in the haystack of a million-app Play Store. F-droid is all you need.
- Testers20 3y ago
  [flagged]
MrDresden 3y ago
That will filter out a lot of high quality apps made by single person dev teams that include the option for users to support them through in-app purchases. That would effectively make it impossible for single/small dev teams to justify making apps for the Play store. And I don't see why filter paid apps would solve anything. The aversion of the average Play store user to spending money on anything is in part the reason we are in this mess. 12 continuous years working as an Android developer and I've never bothered to personally release an app on the Play store. There is nothing to be gained from it except needing to support it without any hope of making back the cost of developing it. Ads, I however agree with, are the bane of our time. Except, due to the aversion to paying for apps, it has become the only way small dev teams can make a living. The change needs to happen on the consumer side for this one. Buy the apps that you enjoy using.
- sideshowb 3y ago
  You just need to change your filter rule such that a single iap to upgrade from free to premium version, can be considered similar to a paid app with no iap.
- geraldhh 3y ago
  > single person dev teams not to put too fine a point on it, but does a single person really constitute a team?
  - TaylorAlexander 3y ago
    “One person team” is a fairly common phrased to describe such a situation I believe. The “team” is the group of developers responsible for something, which may sometimes only contain one person.
    - geraldhh 3y ago
      yea, sets with one or zero members exist. thou, one person does not constitute a team, sorry, not sorry.
pjc50 3y ago
Users hate paying upfront for apps precisely because the quality is unknown. It's the Akerloff "market for lemons" paper in real life.
- littlecranky67 3y ago
  I would challenge that. iOS Appstore is way more known to charge for apps and have less IAP/Ad financed App. Also, good examples are Steam or other Game Stores - but in order for that to work, you need a refund policy (i.e. have a 30minutes refund period). For Apps with one-time use that can't have a return policy, there could be separate indicators/warnings during purchase.
  - philipwhiuk 3y ago
    iOS apps are better because you have to pay Apple for a developer license.
- rchaud 3y ago
  App stores offer refunds. It was better when apps had a fixed price like in the early 2010s. At some point it was decided that subscription apps were where the money was at, both for devs and for Apple who took a silent cut every month.
KomoD 3y ago
I'd love a filter like that, I'd totally pay once for apps if they just worked and didn't have extra bloat, subscriptions, IAPs, etc.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Testers20 3y ago
[flagged]

ssl232 3y ago

You need F-Droid. It's not a silver bullet but the high ranked apps on there are great.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

63 3y ago

They could also start ordering search results by relevancy or quality instead of propensity to make money, but that won't happen either

michaelmrose 3y ago
It is so bad that in the official play store app ads potentially for competitors or irrelevant apps will appear before the item even when you search for the entire name of the app. This means that devs are incentivized to buy ads for their own name lest their competitor be listed first and if they don't you might well download malware. On net the play store is 100% useless because of ads and poor search. The only way to adequately search for apps is by using an actual search engine, even googles, in your mobile browser to find apps and then using the play store solely for installation. The play store is a product so bad if it wasn't required to install software it would have no users. It is the windows ME of google's product lines. It is so bad that Google ought to be embarrassed to show it off in public.

KeplerBoy 3y ago

Do these apps even exist anymore? I feel like they never really did on Android and are a dieing breed on iOS. Of course them being hard to find on the store, is part of why they don't exist in the first place. Fixing that would help.

rchaud 3y ago
Don't try to find that needle in the haystack of a million-app Play Store. F-droid is all you need.
Testers20 3y ago
[flagged]

MrDresden 3y ago

That will filter out a lot of high quality apps made by single person dev teams that include the option for users to support them through in-app purchases. That would effectively make it impossible for single/small dev teams to justify making apps for the Play store. And I don't see why filter paid apps would solve anything. The aversion of the average Play store user to spending money on anything is in part the reason we are in this mess. 12 continuous years working as an Android developer and I've never bothered to personally release an app on the Play store. There is nothing to be gained from it except needing to support it without any hope of making back the cost of developing it. Ads, I however agree with, are the bane of our time. Except, due to the aversion to paying for apps, it has become the only way small dev teams can make a living. The change needs to happen on the consumer side for this one. Buy the apps that you enjoy using.

sideshowb 3y ago
You just need to change your filter rule such that a single iap to upgrade from free to premium version, can be considered similar to a paid app with no iap.
geraldhh 3y ago
> single person dev teams not to put too fine a point on it, but does a single person really constitute a team?
- TaylorAlexander 3y ago
  “One person team” is a fairly common phrased to describe such a situation I believe. The “team” is the group of developers responsible for something, which may sometimes only contain one person.
  - geraldhh 3y ago
    yea, sets with one or zero members exist. thou, one person does not constitute a team, sorry, not sorry.

pjc50 3y ago

Users hate paying upfront for apps precisely because the quality is unknown. It's the Akerloff "market for lemons" paper in real life.

littlecranky67 3y ago
I would challenge that. iOS Appstore is way more known to charge for apps and have less IAP/Ad financed App. Also, good examples are Steam or other Game Stores - but in order for that to work, you need a refund policy (i.e. have a 30minutes refund period). For Apps with one-time use that can't have a return policy, there could be separate indicators/warnings during purchase.
- philipwhiuk 3y ago
  iOS apps are better because you have to pay Apple for a developer license.
rchaud 3y ago
App stores offer refunds. It was better when apps had a fixed price like in the early 2010s. At some point it was decided that subscription apps were where the money was at, both for devs and for Apple who took a silent cut every month.

KomoD 3y ago

I'd love a filter like that, I'd totally pay once for apps if they just worked and didn't have extra bloat, subscriptions, IAPs, etc.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

Testers20 3y ago

[flagged]