Does Google Play have an alternative? We look at the proposals of the end of 2019 and count the lost soldiers.
It so happened that the only full-fledged pre-installed application provider for most Android smartphones is Google Play. Full-fledged means the presence of paid and free applications in the store, for the quality of which not only the manufacturer, but also Google is responsible. In return, Google takes possession of a thirty percent share of the transaction when the user purchases the application, and if the author decides to avoid commission fees by using a subscription in a free application, then nothing will work and will have to give Google 15% each time it renews. A similar situation occurs with the Apple App Store and the lion's share of other sites. 'Possessing' is a very appropriate word, since the software manufacturer simply has no choice, which ultimately leads to the high price of a notoriously inexpensive application. Does the consumer have a choice? Let's take a look at what alternative app stores exist today and what they are. But first, it is worth making a definition of which repository should be considered an alternative to Google Play. Here are the prerequisites: the store must offer original applications and services directly from the manufacturer, as well as prevent consumer fraud (for example, control that the content matches the name and description of the application). And for this reason, the Aptoide App Store (and others like it), which offered a free download of XCOM®: Enemy Within 5 MB in size, was not included in the list. Perhaps later, the repository holders will take up their minds, let's see, but for now here is a recommended list of alternative stores that will not harm the smartphone of an inexperienced user.
App stores that could replace Google Play
The American alternative application store SlideME was founded in 2008 in Seattle, fully complies with American copyright laws, is safe and still works. A nice feature of the store is the ability to download applications without creating a user profile and authorization, even to a personal computer (any).
It is noteworthy that, according to some reports, SlideME ranks second after Google Play in terms of the number of downloaded applications. It is impossible to confirm this statement, since, according to other sources, this place is occupied by the next participant. The store's mobile application can be downloaded when entering the site from a smartphone (a message will appear) or by following this link.
A distinctive feature of any legal foreign store is that applications known to us under the same name will be called differently there, and even the publisher will be different. It seems that these are the consequences of legalizing a company in a foreign tax space. Another extremely pleasant feature is the ability to install the application, albeit in English, which simply does not exist in the Russian sector of Google Play, it will work and be updated.
The GetJar app store was registered as a company in 2004 in Lithuania, in the same year it acquired a legal address in California, in 2015 it was bought out by the international company Sungy Mobile Limited with a legal address in China and has survived to this day. According to various sources, from a million to one and a half million applications are available for download in the store, and the annual number of application downloads reaches a billion times. The number of regular users of GetJar ranges from 200 to 300 million people (according to various sources).
Applications cannot be downloaded from a browser to a personal computer, even if it is the store application itself for Android OS. There is a kind of paradox in this. When you try to do this, a three-point instruction appears (in the screenshot above). The meaning of the third point will baffle anyone, since when you access GetJar from a mobile device, you don't need to enter any numbers anywhere, and all applications are perfectly downloaded from the mobile browser. In this form, I recommend using GetJar, since, in fact, using the official store application is no different from the WEB mode in any browser.
The entire site is characterized by a large number of ads (from Google) and periodic redirects to advertised sites (when you click on Download). And this approach makes GetJar very similar to free file sharing services, well, at least you don't have to wait a minute or two. In all other respects, it is a good alternative to Google Play for both users and developers.
Store Android – Apps Amazon Appstore appeared in 2011 and quickly became famous, at least in the Western Hemisphere. The store is distinguished by the absence of both completely flawed handicrafts and many popular software products. The range of apps can be said to be stuck somewhere between a $ 10 wallpaper (drawn in Paint) and AAA games. The reason for the lack of AAA projects lies in the notorious marketing policy Amazon, which seeks to impose the rules of retail in the Internet environment and is expressed in the daily free distribution of one paid application or game. You will find many stories on the net in which the developers explain the reasons for their departure from the Amazon Appstore, and they all boil down to unwillingness to give away the results of their work for free. In the spring of 2017, the free distribution of elephants stopped, but the developers still have a 'sediment'. And so now there are fewer apps in the Amazon Appstore than in SlideME and GetJar.
The official app store Amazon Appstore for Android is publicly available and quite easy to get. To do this, you need to indicate your email address on the corresponding page of the site, after which a link to download the application will be sent to the specified address. Simple and elegant primary authentication system.
The store interface resembles that of Google Play, all applications are divided into categories, and it is convenient to search for them. We wish Amazon successful development and addition of the Russian language at least to your application.
I don’t know about you, friends, but I laugh at the definition of Yandex as a “Russian multinational company registered in the Netherlands”, which can often be found on the Internet and from the lips of officials. Other 'Russian' companies registered in different places immediately come to mind, such as Sikorsky Aircraft or MaxFactor (founder M. Faktorovich). This is similar to the ritual of the natives in front of a pagan idol. I propose the definition of Yandex as 'a Dutch company focused on Russian-speaking consumers'.
The store does not work from the browser, you need to download and install the branded application. Yandex.Store is distinguished by stable work, Russian language both in the interface and in applications. However, there are few applications.
The huge Chinese marketplace for consumers and app developers, MyApp, is owned by Tencent in Shenzhen. Primarily focused on the Asian market, MyApp has a dominant position with at least 250 million unique users in China alone.
It is difficult for Russian-speaking consumers to use the MyApp store, and some decisions seem to be controversial. So, for example, to install applications from a PC browser, you need to download and install the companion application for Windows, which doesn't seem like a good idea. During the installation of the store on the smartphone, permissions are requested to access media and make calls, which also seems strange. And yet, MyApp has a significant positive feature: if a developer wants to place his application on the site, then he must pass the test and receive approval from the Copyright Center of China. The received certificate will become his pass to the Chinese yuan.
MyApp is similar to other decent stores, with sections that are understandable to native Chinese speakers. During a cursory inspection, advertisements repeatedly surfaced, and the design itself looks like an oriental market – something always glitters, sparkles and shimmers in different colors, discounts are everywhere. This store is listed here only as an example that Google has a decent alternative even where most of its services are banned as malware (for security and defense).
In the world, according to various estimates, there are at least 300 app stores for all platforms. Some projects are just beginning their journey, others are ceasing to exist. The latter includes the recent idol of millions, the 1Mobile store (of Chinese origin, but with English language), which died in 2018, which coincides with the escalation of the Sino-American trade war. It was funny, it just stopped working, leaving loyal customers bewildered. And everything started more or less the same – a resource of like-minded people appeared on the network, engaged in development for Android OS, who at some point got tired of writing the code themselves. A typical such pond with tadpoles, with the future owners of global app stores, is the well-known site XDA-Developers in the narrow circles of advanced amateurs. This is a typical forum of narrow specialists in the field of programming and users Android who are pressing on them (ten to one), demanding to make, for example, a new notification curtain.
Such a community should have a special store, right? Indeed, where else can you find modules for Xposed on sale or a set of excellent icons for 1 ruble from the manufacturer itself? If someone is delighted with tinkering with firmware or uterine (very deep) customization of the interface, then you should pay attention to the XDA Labs rarity store.
Conclusion
All third-party stores are installed as regular applications in the user's smartphone storage section. On the one hand, this is a drawback, since the store does not have access to the smartphone ID, OS version Android and other data, which can lead to a launch failure or incorrect operation of an application downloaded from the store. But, on the other hand, when we talk about installing a simple application (game), then most often the OS version limitation is far-fetched, and it will work fine. This is not an obvious fact, but it is Google that 'swears' at an inappropriate application, and during installation through a third-party store, installation refusal can occur only due to the different bitness of the OS and application. These 'disadvantages' lead to the fact that the user has access to all the applications from the assortment of the store and he can spend time interestingly checking the applications for real compatibility with his smartphone.
Most of the Google Play alternatives listed are aimed at the English-speaking consumer, which crosses us, learning German or French, off the list of customers in the Quests section of these stores. However, the language barrier hinders fewer and fewer consumers every year, and it's time for Google to think about its future and stop limiting its consumers' choice (any).
Friends, tell us about your experience with alternative app stores. How did you find them and do you use them now?