[grishka]

This isn't as much of a problem on Android because it allows installing apks. There's plenty of apps that couldn't possibly be allowed in Google Play that are distributed using alternative means.

It's a much more serious problem with iOS, where if Apple doesn't like your app, your service, your policies, or even your attitude, you just aren't getting your app out to your users, period. But we'll see where EU DMA takes this.

[rvnx]

It's about distribution and being visible.

If you are not on the Play Store you lose the majority of your installations.

It's like a musician who is not on YouTube and not on Spotify.

Or a website that is not on Google Search.

[grishka]

IMO not quite. Here's how I see it:

- Generic utility apps, the kind that you would search by what they do, like an audio player, an image converter, or a file manager — yes, it works for them like you say.

- Those free to play mobile games everyone knows and loves (no). They buy stupid amount of ads to get people to install them. They may get some installations thanks the app stores themselves, e.g. from the top charts, assuming they get high enough there. So app stores do play a role in their visibility, but a limited one. And this is where it ends.

- Apps for IRL services, like getting around (taxi/scooter rental/car sharing), or ordering food, or many other similar things. They get popular because people see their logos around them all the dang time, often together with QR codes with download links. They also often buy ads. Sometimes people recommend them to each other. App stores don't play any significant role for these.

- Apps for something you already use. Like your home utilities, or your bank, or some sort of "smart" device you got, or loyalty programs. Again, you don't discover these thanks to app stores, you usually install them because that company says "we have an app, get it here".

- Social/collaboration apps, the kind that are useless without people you know also using them. No one searches app stores for "social media" or "messaging" or "calls". People recommend them to each other. People see that their friends are on there and get on there too. Again, app stores don't do much here.

[998244353]

You're right that discoverability is not really the issue.

However, I still agree with the GP that if you are not on the Play Store, you lose most of your installations.

If someone has already discovered your app and can't find it on the Play Store, they are more likely to assume that it's not supported on their phone, unavailable in their region or whatever. Even if you explicitly tell them to just download the APK, most people will not do that. Keep in mind that the average user probably doesn't even know that you can install apps from outside the Play Store. Or even if they guess that it's probably possible, they might well perceive it as complicated and sketchy.

[grishka]

I don't understand how does one come to this conclusion. In my own experience, most people will do what you ask them to do as long as your instructions are clear enough. Downloading and installing an apk on an Android phone is no different than downloading and running an exe on a Windows PC, which is something people do all the time. No one perceives Play Store as inherently more trustworthy. I know many non-tech people who have and use sideloaded apps on their phones.

Edit: it might be different for younger generations who grew up with modern smartphones.

[Zak]

Epic Games can probably tell you exactly how many fewer people install an app that's not on the Play Store on their Android devices. That information might even be in public documents from their lawsuit against Google. That they were able to sue and win suggests it's large.

[rvnx]

+ Epic has visibility and audience already. So imagine if you are a developer without that.

[danhor]

While people don't discover these apps on the play store, they will hear of the App, search on the App/Play Store and install it. If they can't find it by typing the app name into the search bar there, they won't install it.

I doubt most users will, even when given the link to an .apk, install it. Either because they are discouraged by the alarming prompts (in my opinion a tradeoff that is unfortunately worth it) or because they get lost.

[account42]

> - Apps for IRL services, like getting around (taxi/scooter rental/car sharing), or ordering food, or many other similar things. They get popular because people see their logos around them all the dang time, often together with QR codes with download links. They also often buy ads. Sometimes people recommend them to each other. App stores don't play any significant role for these.

Except if let's say Uber quit the app store then users would still first search there and many of them will install the first result which will now be a competitior since Google is allergic to showing no results if there is no relevant answer.

For everything else there is the issue of trust. Google does everything they can to make installing apps outside the app store feel like you are doing something dangerous.

[throwaway743]

As someone who just started a business and released my first android app a few weeks ago, you couldn't be more right.

Not only is the fate of your app in the hands of the Play Store, but also in the hands of their testers. Just had a critical bug in an update release 5 days ago, affecting fresh installs. I immediately fixed it after a friend notified me, pushed the fixed update, only to wait till yesterday to get rejected due to a super minor ui issue. Then finally got approval this morning. Typically I waited 30 min for approval, 2 hrs the longest.

During that time I reached out to their non-existent customer support, messaged their "help forum", called any number I could find, finally resorted to randomly messaging employees on LinkedIn out of desperation. Nothing. And when you try to get support through their help options, it's a gamble as to whether or not the help option you select is going to give you an error. Not to mention any number you call ends with "please visit support.google.com. thanks for calling".

In the meantime, I had ~300+ uninstalls out of the ~1200 I had, and risked my 4.8 rating tanking and sinking my chances of success before I even really started.

That's just my story. There are people who are facing even worse rn dealing with them and have been waiting for weeks.

[DaiPlusPlus]

> It's like a musician who is not on YouTube and not on Spotify.

There are plenty of musicians who are perfectly happy not being on YouTube or Spotify.

It's almost like a protest, at this point - and I don't mean like a boycott either.

[wkat4242]

For an app like this being on F-Droid gives more discoverability imo. In fact this is how I discovered this very app.

It's much more worthwhile being in a small catalog of quality privacy-preserving software than being in the cesspool of millions of ad- and spyware trash from Google.

I'm sure the mainstream users will find them easier on play but the real target audience will be on F-Droid.

Ps having said that, the ban is ridiculous of course

[mook]

You can't show up in Android Auto unless you're distributed through the Play store (third party things like F-Droid and side loading means your app doesn't show in the car).

[Zak]

Android Auto developer settings allow access by "unknown sources".

https://technastic.com/android-auto-developer-settings/

[summm]

This does not work for map applications.

[MobiusHorizons]

Good point, that makes a nontrivial difference for apps like organic maps. I know I have used it for offline navigation over CarPlay several times before.

[blackeyeblitzar]

Distribution is everything. Controlling distribution through defaults (play store already installed), barriers (pop ups warning you that installing other apps is risky), etc is monopolistic.

[ktosobcy]

I'd argue it's still a problem on Android as google makes it more and more difficult to let alternative installation methods and makes it sound scary :/

[cube00]

Good luck getting a regular consumer to agree to all the scary warnings presented when you do that.

[grishka]

On Android, there isn't really a scary warning. You have to allow whatever app you're installing the apk from to install apps form "unknown sources". That's it. You only have to do it once per source.

On iOS, I'm sure the EU regulators will demand that Apple at least tone down their warnings.

[wkat4242]

What they should tone down is the requirement to share your app with Apple even if distributing it outside the store and to revenue share with them.

The warnings are just that.

[withinboredom]

I didn't even read the warnings to install fortnite, but it seemed Apple tried to make it as confusing as possible. Click install, go to settings, white list the provider, go back to the browser, click back to try installing again ... and then finally, click "yes I am sure" then click "yes I am sure" like 3 more times.

So complicated.