Google’s idea is simple: If the developers support a wide range of form factors with their media apps for audio, e-books or video, then the commission that Google annualizes on sales via the Play Store drops from 30% to 15%. In any case, Google only takes 15% of developers when their revenues are less than $1 million a year. The new reduction is consequently designed at large providers. Google even breaks down the whole thing a bit: For video apps, for example, they want the integration of Android TV, Google TV and Chromecast built-in. The audio area will be Wear OS, Android Auto, Android TV, and again Chromecast built-in. As far as e-books are concerned, an optimization for tablets, foldable and the new entertainment space should be a prerequisite for the commission discount. Only if the conditions mentioned above are met will there be a discount. Other prerequisites are at least 100,000 active installations per month and a “strong rating on Google Play”. Let’s see if Google’s plan works out, and developers can now be motivated.
