Google Play
Cashing in Stage 3
Google Play is the default store on billions of Android phones. Android’s openness—sideloading and rival stores—made it more competitive than Apple’s, yet Google kept a 30% cut for years until the Epic verdict forced fees down. Now developer verification extends its gatekeeping to apps installed outside Play. Stage 3.
- Since
- 2008
- Function
- Devices & stores
- VC-backed
- No
- Public
- Since 2004 (NASDAQ: GOOGL)
Rating checklist
The stage follows from these criteria under the published method. Extraction and decline count only with a dated source from the last 3 years.
- Alignment 0 of 3
- None
- Lock-in 1 of 4
-
- L4 Gatekeeper or default
- Extraction 1 of 7
-
- E6 Self-dealing Aug 25, 2025
- Decline 0 of 3
- None
Result: Two or more extraction criteria, or lock-in plus at least one, so stage 3.
News signals
More in Devices & stores
-
Apple App Store
3The only way to install apps on most iPhones: a safe, curated store that also takes up to 30% and fought court orders to keep it that way.
-
HP Printers
3Printers sold cheap and recovered through ink: firmware that blocks third-party cartridges and subscription ink that stops working when you cancel.
-
Ring
3Amazon's doorbell cameras: convenient security that needs a subscription for recordings, and an ongoing push to turn neighborhood footage into a surveillance network.
-
Sonos
3Premium multi-room speakers whose 2024 app rewrite broke features owners had paid for; years later the company is still cutting staff and rebuilding trust.
