Google Play is finally hosting a rival app store, thanks to its antitrust loss

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What just happened? A landmark 2024 court decision forced Google to support rival Android app stores in the US. While Epic Games, the company whose lawsuit initiated the shift, has not yet brought its storefront to Google Play, a relatively obscure app distributor has taken the first step.

Aptoide has become the first new Android app store available directly through the Google Play Store. The company is taking advantage of shifting regulations forcing Google to support rival storefronts, with others sure to follow.

Following a years-long legal war with Epic Games, Google's Android app business was declared an illegal monopoly last year. Although Android is an ostensibly open platform where users can sideload apps, and Google Play is not the only app store, a judge ruled that Google deliberately designed its developer incentives and policies to discourage the emergence of other options. Since Apple's iOS is an explicitly closed garden, the ruling does not apply to iPhones and iPads.