😱 Google Play Store Has a New Indian Threat!?

How is this Indian company challenging Google's supremacy?

PhonePe is going head-to-head with Google Play Store. 
It is going to launch its own mobile app store Indus Appstore for consumers on 21 Feb, 2024!
It made its Appstore available for Android app developers in September 2023. 
Since then, it has onboarded apps like Flipkart, Domino's Pizza, ixigo, Snapdeal, Bajaj Finserv and JioMart.
It has also tied up with Dream11, Nazara Technologies, Gameskraft and MPL. 
These brands will continue to list on Google Play Store as well. So they don't have anything to lose. 
How is it different from Google Play Store? How is it a THREAT to Google Play Store? 
For starters, Indus allows developers to list their apps in 12 Indian languages (other than English). 
Google player being a global player does not have this local edge.
The game changer?
App listings on the platform will be free for the first year! 
Commissions on in-app purchases? 
ZERO! 
Compare this with the 15-30% fee by Google Play Store and Apple App Store! 
PhonePe is also addressing a big pain for developers: customer support. 
Indus Appstore will offer 24x7 support via email or chatbot to resolve queries of developers. 
Google, on the other hand, plays hard to get with countless unanswered emails! 
Apart from pricing and support, PhonePe also aims to solve for uniquely Indian problems to attract the Indian ecosystem:

• New app version for specific customer groups: to increase success rates of product launches.
• A dedicated section called “Launchpad” for new apps. 

These features will help new apps get a boost and track their success metrics. 
PhonePe's launch comes at a time when Google is facing heat from all directions. 
In 2020, it faced backlash from the Indian startup community for the super-high commissions. 
India's Competition Commission found Google guilty of abusing its dominant position.
Not just in India, it is also facing heat in the US. 
In Dec 2023, it lost a lawsuit to Epic Games - which could put at risk its $10 billion annual revenue from Playstore. 

Yes, the Playstore it has been running since 12 long years! 

Epic Games has been given a chance to submit a court filing on how Google Play Store can be fixed (although the final decision could be years away). 
Can PhonePe take advantage of the anti-Google wave and zoom ahead? 
Let us know your thoughts in the comments! 
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