Breaking the duopoly: A new dawn for alternative app stores?
"The clock is ticking. Resistance to change will soon not be an option."
Two giants rule the app store landscape. But as new regulation comes into force across the world, could Apple and Google’s dominance be about to end?
Paulo Trezentos, CEO of Aptoide, took Google to court in 2018 and won a decisive victory. At the time, Aptoide had more than 250 million users and six billion downloads.
The judge's landmark ruling ordered Google to stop removing its app from users’ phones without their knowledge.
Now, more than half a decade since that victory, Trezentos believes 2025 will be the year that the foundations of the App Store market are fundamentally disrupted.
In an article for Machine, he discusses why the duopoly must be smashed and sets out the benefits of increased competition in this space for both businesses and consumers.
Why do we need alternative app stores?
This year will be a time of of change for the app store landscape. The dominance of Apple and Google is fading, as an alternative ecosystem steps into the spotlight – bringing developers and publishers a new era of opportunity and choice.
The tech giants’ stores have launched the success of countless brilliant games and apps, but over time they have become a duopoly, limiting studios' creative and commercial freedom while stifling competition. Beyond the infamous 30% revenue cut they apply to most games, the established app stores exert control over monetisation, data, discoverability opportunities, security protocols, and more.
Discontent around the duopoly has been brewing for years, with regulators now moving in on the space following a number of court cases. Recently, the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (DMCC) have been introduced to curb the duopoly as Japan readies its own regulatory reforms.
Those regulations demand that Apple and Google stop preventing the sale of apps and services that compete with their own – a change that means players can download alternative apps stores that offer companies and consumers more freedom and choice. And 2025 marks the point at which that regulation is coming into full effect.
In 12 months’ time, Apple and Google’s app store domination could be a thing of the past. But why is this happening, and what are the opportunities?
The journey so far
The new regulations have been hard fought for. Back in 2018, Aptoide was the first company to successfully sue Google for anti-competitive practices in the app store space, setting a powerful precedent.
Soon after, Epic’s famous cases against Apple and Google would begin to dominate the headlines, further motivating regulators to act.
At Aptoide, we provide an alternative app store built to give developers, publishers, and players a better deal. We were the first in the space, being founded in 2011. We were also one of the first three alternative app stores approved by Apple, alongside AltStore and Epic.
We remain the only alternative app store provider based in Europe, but globally, we’re seeing more competitors emerge. That’s something we welcome because a significant part of this effort is about opening up healthy competition. We might even see more alternatives match our offer of letting studios keep up to 90% of their revenues.
We’re also committed to contributing to ushering in the new era of app store freedom – which is why, as CEO, I felt it was my duty to support the EU Commission with its understanding of the current landscape.
The journey has also been defined by increased public interest in alternative app stores, with independently conducted studies finding consumers are keen to embrace a more diverse app store landscape. Obstacles have littered the road to freedom, however. Consumer awareness remains low. The two giants are also proving slow to implement their new regulatory requirements.
We’ve seen inconsistency across different identical Apple devices in terms of access to alternative app stores. Apple’s Core Technology Fee (CTF), meanwhile, instates a per-user charge to developers who distribute outside of the App Store, undermining the appeal of adopting alternative app stores. Over on the Google Play Store, Android users are required to adjust different settings and navigate numerous complex steps to download apps beyond Google's own store.
These issues and more can be seen as constraining the potential of a truly open app market. But as 2025 sees the regulations come into full force, Apple and Google are facing increased scrutiny.
Aptoide and the wider industry are now moving beyond legal action, focusing on informing regulators, including reporting on Apple and Google’s progress with adopting the new rules. Elsewhere, we’re seeing the EU, UK, and Japan align their efforts - and we expect other states and regions to follow suit.
Despite potential resistance, a change is coming. Which brings us to the opportunities.
A bright future?
The clock is ticking on the app store duopoly. Resistance to change will soon not be an option. Consumer awareness and confidence are set to rise as alternative app stores flourish alongside Apple and Google’s offerings. Unrestrained, alternative app stores can expand their offering, with technologies such as the new generation of AI emboldening the feature set they offer.
A powerful opportunity is emerging. More generous revenue shares are fueling greater growth, as developers start to taste greater freedom across the design and monetisation of their own games – even exploring building and implementing their own stores.
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