At this point, it is well established that Diablo Immortal has one of the greediest gacha systems we've seen in a mobile game to date. Still, the controversy didn't scare off those who can afford to drop piles of cash on mobile games. In the two weeks since launch, Diablo …
Read More »Google allegedly wanted to take over Epic Games to avoid Play Store competition
It has been a couple of months since the Epic Games v Apple trial came to an end, but Epic’s legal battles are not over yet. Epic is now taking on Google in court, giving us a fresh wave of new documents – revealing that Google considered acquiring Epic Games a …
Read More »Google faces US anti-trust lawsuit over Play Store policies
Google has faced plenty of anti-trust complaints over the years, with most recent cases centring around the Google Play Store and its policies for app developers. Now, an antitrust lawsuit is being levied against Google, backed by 36 US states, including Washington DC. The lawsuit takes aim at Google's policy …
Read More »Google reduces its App Store commission, following Apple
In the past, digital stores such as Steam, Apple’s App Store and Google Play all took a 30% cut of every transaction. While being the industry standard, Epic Games swooped in with much fairer percentage cuts, pressuring the others to do the same. Following Apple, Google has now reduced its …
Read More »Six popular Android applications have been identified as fraudulent
Advertisements are the largest source of revenue for most mobile applications, with many cycling through full-screen ads intermittently or housing banners at the bottom of the screen. Six popular applications found on the Google's Play Store have now been removed for illegally abusing these services and users should quickly uninstall …
Read More »Google will deliver Android updates via the Play Store, starting with Pixel smartphones
Like its iOS rival, updates to the Android operating system have been carried out through the Settings application since its commercial release in 2008. It seems as though this is set to change with the introduction of Android Q later this year, as a new Play Store APK shows system …
Read More »EA wants to bring Apex Legends to mobile, but a fake version is already circulating
Thanks to its immense popularity on consoles and PC, Electronic Arts (EA) is currently looking into bringing Apex Legends to mobile devices. Fans of the game should be wary of this until the publisher gives the official word however, as there are already fake applications floating around. EA revealed the …
Read More »Epic has an Android version of its Games Store in the works
Epic launched its new video game store at the end of last year in an effort to compete with Valve’s sizeable revenue split. The publisher isn’t stopping there, however, as Epic is in the early stages of tackling Google’s Play Store on Android. It’s no secret that Epic Games isn’t …
Read More »Android has double the app downloads, but half the sales of Apple’s App Store
Google’s Android is once again storming further ahead of iPhone in terms of downloads, however Apple’s ecosystem is far from down and out for the count. New statistics show that despite having less than half the total downloads of its rival, iPhone users spend twice as much on the App …
Read More »Google adds anti-tamper DRM to Android apps for easy verification with the Play Store
Android malware has been making the headlines lately, particularly with the swathe of fake Fortnite apps that were available for download. Google is looking to combat these fake apps by introducing anti-tamper DRM to apps downloaded from places other than the Play Store. Google announced this change via their Android …
Read More »Google is restricting access to its Play Store on unverified devices
Since it debuted, Android has been known for its open platform approach, a unique stance within a market that often remains closed. In a slight change of pace, Google has announced that it wants to put a stop to unverified devices using its Play Store applications. Despite its open Android …
Read More »Android P may start blocking apps from running if they target older APIs
Google is continuing to combat its Android fragmentation problem. This time around, Google is focussing on developers and ensuring that they support the latest versions of Android. Back in December, Google announced that Play Store apps would need to support versions of Android no more than one year old going …
Read More »PUBG Mobile spreads to the west, starting in Canada
A few months ago, the folks at PUBG Corp began rolling out a mobile version of its hit Battle Royale game in China. Now, that same mobile version is finally spreading to the west, starting off with a ‘soft launch' in Canada. A beta version of PUBG Mobile landed on …
Read More »Google managed to purge 700,000 dodgy apps from the Play Store last year
Over the years, there have been plenty of ill-meaning app developers pushing malware and adware onto the Google Play Store. Over time, Google has gotten better at squashing these apps out and removing them, which is shown by the company's 2017 stats. According to Google, it removed 700,000 bad apps …
Read More »Google is now cracking down apps that track data without permission
While Android OS is often exploited due to its open platform, Google has begun cracking down on the applications that aren't playing by the rules. This began with the announcement that it would be booting any app that pushes advertisements to the lock screen and has now extended to axing …
Read More »Google is cracking down on apps that push ads to the Android lock screen
As part of its effort to crack down on bad apps on the Play Store, Google has announced this week that it will be booting any applications that display advertisements on the Android lock screen. Starting from this week, the Google Play Developer Policy will have stricter guidelines when it …
Read More »The Google Play store still has plenty of loopholes, as 1 million users download fake WhatsApp
Security on the Google Play store has been an issue for years. Dodgy app developers are still able to get fake or malware ridden apps on to the store front, with some even able to take advantage of the review system in order to appear legitimate to unsuspecting downloaders. This …
Read More »Google purges hundreds of Android apps for using phones for DDoS attacks
Due to Android’s open nature, it is easier for malicious software to make its way on to services like the Google Play Store. Google has been tightening things up over the last year but it seems that there is still work to be done. This week, Google purged around 300 …
Read More »Google is dropping Google+ from the Play Store
Google has begun ditching its Google+ social networking integration from the Play Store, as it continues to make the service far less ubiquitous. While there was once a section about people you knew and what they thought of various apps, and you needed a G+ account to leave reviews, none …
Read More »Google begins putting Android Play Store on Chrome OS
A short while after first announcing that it would be bringing Android apps to Chrome OS, Google has officially begun rolling out the Android Play Store to some Chrome OS devices. This is a test build, so it isn't perfect yet but this is the first iteration of the Play …
Read More »Chrome OS will soon get Android Apps and Play Store access
While there has been talk over the last few months of Google merging Chrome OS and Android, the actual story for the time being is a little different. Chrome OS and Android are going to remain as separate entities but Google's desktop operating system will soon gain the ability to …
Read More »Google warns of Android root access security flaw
Google has issued a warning to Android users this week after it discovered a bug present in the software that could allow hackers to gain root access to your smartphone through a certain application. The flaw itself isn't particularly new and was originally discovered two years ago in the Linux …
Read More »Google removed Samsung’s Android ad blocker from Play Store
Just a few days after its release, Google has gone ahead and booted Samsung's own Android ad blocker from the Play Store for violating the developer guidelines. The app was called Adblock Fast and it was designed to work with Samsung's mobile browser thanks to a partnership with a third-party …
Read More »Google has quietly stopped selling the Nexus 6
Google has chosen to quietly discontinue the Motorola Nexus 6, which launched at the end of 2014 but failed to really live up to expectations both in terms of sales and acclaim. From this point forward, Google's first oversized Nexus won't be available to buy directly through the Play Store, …
Read More »Apple has released its ‘Move to iOS’ app on Android
Apple didn't just launch iOS 9 last night, but it also launched its recently announced tool to help Android users switch over to an iPhone. ‘Move to iOS' is Apple's first Android app and it does exactly what the name suggests, it helps Android users move their pictures, contacts, bookmarks, …
Read More »Google starts injecting ads in to Play Store searches
Google has pretty much built its entire empire on the back of advertisement revenue since its early days starting out as a search engine, so it shouldn't be too surprising that the company is expanding that in to Android with the Google Play Store. Google now has sponsored listings on …
Read More »You can now ‘pre-register’ for apps on Google Play Store
Google has been updating the Play Store a fair amount recently. The latest update to the Android app store allows you to pre-register for certain apps. It works like a mailing list, those who register interest in an app will receive a notification on their device once it becomes available …
Read More »Google’s own Chrome OS laptop is coming to the UK
Google's in-house made Chrome OS laptop, the Chromebook Pixel 2, is coming to the UK this month. The new model was announced last month over in the US and is intended to get more developers on-board and working with the lesser used Chrome operating system. Chromebooks are generally cheaper, intended …
Read More »Google is now manually reviewing Android apps
Google is starting to crack down on dodgy apps in the Play Store by manually reviewing applications submitted by developers. From now on, when a developer submits an app, it will have to be checked out by somebody before it gets put on the Play Store. This is the way …
Read More »Google removes Pirate Bay related apps from Play Store
Google has gone ahead and started removing popular Pirate Bay applications from the Play Store. An email sent to developers noted that these apps violate intellectual property and Google's content policy. Google has slowly started getting more involved in the fight against piracy due to intense pressure from media outlets. …
Read More »