The ruling could usher in huge changes for the Play Store in the next three years. However, Google plans on appealing the ruling, which stems from the Epic Games antitrust case.

We’ve already seen a report from Statista, which showed that as of June 2024, the number of Play Store apps available was down a almost a million apps year-on-year, albeit at 1.7 million titles, there remains an expansive attack surface as the constant game of cat and mouse between bad actors and Google’s security team continues.

Epic Games has successfully forced Google to change its Play Store business model following the conclusion of a 2020 antitrust lawsuit. A U.S.

Google has to open up the Play Store. On Monday, US District Judge James Donato issued a permanent injunction forcing the company to open its storefront to competitors for three years and make Android apps available in alternate stores.

The injunction by U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco outlined the changes Google must undertake to open up its lucrative app store, Play, to greater competition, including making Android apps available from rival sources.

For more years than I can keep track of, Epic Games has been battling both Apple and Google about their app store policies. While their fight with Apple is over, Epic is not done with Google. In fact,

Google Play Store could soon show a warning when downloading apps with older watch faces. It could soon also show your Play Points at the app download page.

“The provisions are designed to level the playing field for the entry and growth of rivals, without burdening Google excessively,” Judge James Donato wrote in the court order. “As competition comes into play and the network effects that Google Play unfairly enjoys are abated, Google should not be unduly constrained as a competitor.”

Google had announced the car-ready mobile apps program at Google I/O 2024, and it's now gearing up to show tablet-optimized apps for your car.