Google Play Store has been the king of the android app stores for as long as android has been relevant, the simplest form of an app store which comes standard on your new Android phone and is incredibly easy for anybody to use.
Google Play Store offers an incredible diversity of applications and extremely convenient payment methods for those apps which require subscriptions. What many smartphone users may not realize is that there are alternatives to Google Play Store, alternatives that any Android user should know about.
Why Not Google Play Store
The Google Play Store may be the industry standard for Android, but it is not everybody’s preferred app store. There are three main camps of people who prefer to use alternatives to Google Play Store.
1. Information conscious –
A lot of people today are trying to separate themselves from Googles suite of services, mostly for their own data privacy. Google makes money off of using your data to supply targeted advertising, making anything by Google a difficult pill to swallow for those who would not like their personal data collected.
2. Power Users –
Google Play Store caters to the masses but doesn’t always do a good job of catering to the niche markets. Small or single developers who have created a niche application don’t always have the funds or the ability to change their apps to meet Google Play Store’s restrictions and rules. App stores like F-Droid are much more accommodating when it comes to these use cases and supply power users an easy way to upload or get any app they could want.
3. Developers –
Google Play Store offers convenient security and incredibly easy payment methods for a lot of small and large developers alike. The downside to this is that Google like Apple takes a 30% cut of any in-app purchase. If you are a smaller developer using a subscription model for an application, that 30% cut can easily do away with a small profit margin that most small developers work on.
Fortunately, Google has recently introduced a program in which googles share is reduced to 15% for the first $1 million in revenue. This can still be a bit steep for developers who have high operating costs in forms of servers and infrastructure.
Alternatives
Considering all of the above, there are several app stores outside Google Play which can better supply to different needs and uses. You can also often find mobile optimized site like https://onlinecasino.com.pk/bonuses/ that run smoothy on your mobile, with no download required. These are some of the best around.
APKPure
APKPure is likely one of the best contenders as a replacement for the Google Play Store for normal Android users. All the normal applications like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are available, even a few google apps like Gmail. This is a solid replacement for somebody who may want to steer away from the Google suite.
F-Droid
F-Droid has a lot of the normal applications one may want to use; plus is completely free and open source. Where F-droid really gets its advantage is with power user applications. Completely free apps, no trickery in the form of tracking, all open source and some of the best place to look for power user applications, F-Droid is a solid contender as an alternative to Google Play Store
Should You Use Other App Stores?
The best app store for you is the one that has the applications that you most frequently use. The Google-owned Play Store remains the most efficient with easy payment methods for normal users. Venturing into other app stores can be a great learning experience, provided you are able to confirm the applications you are downloading are safe.