The fact that countless OEMs are making Android smartphones that appeal to all kinds of customers is why Google’s mobile operating system is so popular, particularly in emerging markets, where the first smartphone that many buy is most likely to be an Android. To make sure that customers in those countries find it even easy to purchase applications and don’t turn towards piracy, which is rampant when it comes to Android apps, Google has decided to cut the minimum app price in emerging markets.
What this means that developers can now sell their apps for even less than what they were previously charging for it, they have the opportunity to make up for the difference in terms of sheer volume that cheaper apps are likely to bring.
It’s also a good way for Google to increase revenue generated from the Google Play Store. Many of the more than 1.4 billion active Android users live in emerging markets across Eastern Europe, Asia and South America.
They don’t have as much money to spend on apps and games so rather than have them go towards piracy, the other option is to provide them with even cheaper apps that they can spend money on.
This is why the minimum app price in a total of 17 countries has been cut by more than half with the new floor price for apps in these markets coming down to roughly $0.26. That’s a quarter of the minimum price set for customers in Europe and the United States.