Google is changing your Android phone forever – and the UK and Europe are set to benefit first
Google is changing your Android phone forever – and the UK and Europe are set to benefit first
Publish Date: 2026-03-05 11:30:00
Source Domain: www.t3.com
Quick Summary
Google is moving forward with changes to payments through Google Play that will reduce fees and allow third-party payment methods.
Google is also going to allow vetted third-party app stores on the platform, which adds choice on where you get your apps and games from.
Google has announced that changes are coming that will change Android going forward. It will evolve the mobile platform into something that’s more open, with greater flexibility and access to more app stores.
Since that time, dominos have seemed to fall to a point where, five years later, Google has announced it’ll change its payment policies, fees and app store restrictions.
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Sharing the news via the Android Developers Blog, the tech giant has confirmed that developers will have more options for handling payments, with the ability to process their own payments, rather than using Google Play’s billing. That will include guiding users to websites to make payments.
For example, that could mean that the Kindle app will finally allow users to buy books directly, rather than having to pay through a browser to get access.
In addition, Android will start allowing registered app stores to be accessible.
Developers will have to meet particular requirements to ensure security, after which app stores can be sideloaded on Android devices. Up to this point, only app stores from partners (like Samsung) were permitted.
UK and Europe will see the changes first
Interestingly, Google says that this is going to start outside of the US before then moving to include the States. This would open the door for a fully-featured Epic Games Store app, for example, offering direct access to…
