Big news just dropped for anyone who uses Android phones. Google recently lost a major court battle. This means they will soon have to open up their Play Store to more competition. The court said Google abused its powerful position. Now, everyone is wondering exactly when these big changes will happen. But it seems like it will be very soon.
This week, Google lost another round in its legal fight against Epic Games. To fix its unfair market power, the Play Store needs a huge makeover. It must allow other app stores and new ideas to enter the market. This means big changes for developers and users alike.
So, what exactly has to change? First, Google must let app developers use different payment services. This is a big deal for in-app purchases. Second, developers can now include links to other payment platforms inside their apps. Third, Google can no longer pay developers who only sell their apps and games through the Play Store. This removes the incentive for exclusivity, opening up more choices.
These changes are a huge blow to Google. Even worse, they don’t have much time to make them happen. The court gave Google only 14 days to add these new features. Google, however, quickly asked for a 30-day extension. They filed an emergency request for more time, saying 14 days isn’t enough.
Google claims that waiting for a full court review would let the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals consider its next request. They argue this would prevent them from messing up the Android system before the court decides. Google also says the 14-day deadline puts users and developers at serious risk. They worry it could harm the entire Android world. We don’t know if the judges will agree to this delay.
It’s worth noting that Google has been down this road before. The original judgment was back in December 2024. Google got a pause on the changes while their appeal was ongoing. This means they have actually had plenty of time to start preparing this new system. For example, Google already got an eight-month delay on allowing other app stores into the Play Store. This gave them time to build safe systems for these new options. So, Android users might not see the Epic Games Store or other stores on their phones until 2026. Still, Google isn’t giving up. They plan to ask the US Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court’s decision.