Tech News Summary:
- PhonePe launches Indus Appstore as a homegrown Android app store to compete with Google Play Store in India.
- Indus Appstore offers support for multiple languages and waives fees on in-app purchases, aiming to provide a more inclusive and competitive digital ecosystem for Indian users.
- The launch of Indus Appstore comes amid a growing app economy in India and a standoff between Google and Indian startups, providing an alternative platform for mobile app discovery and download.
In a bold move to challenge the dominance of Google Play Store in India, PhonePe has announced the launch of its own app store, called the Homegrown Indus Appstore. The digital payment platform, owned by Walmart, aims to provide a platform for Indian developers to showcase their apps and offer an alternative to the Google Play Store.
The Homegrown Indus Appstore will feature a wide range of apps across categories such as games, e-commerce, food delivery, and more. PhonePe has also stated that it will ensure strict quality control and security measures to protect users from malicious apps.
This move comes in the wake of Google’s recent 30% commission on in-app purchases, which has sparked outrage among Indian app developers and tech companies. PhonePe’s decision to launch its own app store is seen as a strategic move to provide a more favorable ecosystem for Indian developers and offer better revenue-sharing options.
According to PhonePe, the Homegrown Indus Appstore will also support UPI payments for app purchases, making it easier for Indian users to buy and download apps seamlessly.
The launch of the Homegrown Indus Appstore is likely to shake up the app distribution market in India and could potentially challenge the dominance of Google Play Store. It will be interesting to see how other tech companies and developers respond to this new development and whether PhonePe’s app store can gain traction in the competitive Indian app market.