Popular alternative Android marketplace Aptoide has just launched as a challenger to the Apple App Store in Europe. We’ve seen a few store launches since the Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to support third-party iOS app markets in March, but nothing so far has tipped the balance of power and changed the status quo.
Launched in 2009, Aptoide is mainly known as a Google Play alternative for Android users. The Portugal-based company said it currently hosts 1 million apps for about 400 million users. However, the iOS app store Aptoide (invite-only beta) launching today is different, as it only distributes games. It’s the first such marketplace for Apple devices, and its freemium structure could be very attractive to developers and users alike.
Can Aptoide thrive where others are struggling? Will its focus on gaming appeal to the masses? Can its freemium model create a way forward for the third-party market? We had a chance to try out Aptoide to find out.
So far, there have been no major disruptions in other existing iOS markets in Europe. Including Aptoide, four are live at the time of writing. The first to launch is Mobivention, a business-focused store that distributes apps to employees. The second is AltStore PAL, an interesting market whose main selling point for an iOS emulator was diluted by Apple, which eventually allowed the software to appear in its own store. The third is Setapp Mobile, a subscription-based service still in closed beta that focuses on providing a workbench with productivity tools.
All of this carries the promise of disrupting Apple’s monopoly, but so far, progress has been slow. For example, AltStore PAL was launched in early April and includes two applications: Delta and Clip. Now, two months later, it still only has two apps. According to its developer Riley Testut, this is because the new software is “stuck in Apple’s notarization process.” Things are slightly better with Setapp Mobile. The company launched a store with 13 apps in mid-May, and about three weeks later, 37 are now available.
Now, it’s Aptoide’s turn to try it out.
Installing the Aptoide Game Store on iPhone is similar to other marketplaces: tedious but achievable with persistence. You have to navigate about a dozen on-screen interactions that repeatedly warn of impending danger. Thankfully, for beginners, Aptoide provides a handy illustrated guide of the steps required, and having gone through this process a few times now, I can assure you that it will become routine in no time.
Once Aptoide is installed on your phone, everything is smooth sailing. You click on a game, install it, and start playing. Unfortunately, in the state in which we tested Aptoide, the features available weren’t too impressive. When we tested, there were only eight base games (think versions of Solitaire and Hangman), none of which were particularly appealing. However, this will change. Aptoide co-founder and CEO Paulo Trezentos said that so far 100 developers have expressed interest in appearing on its iOS market, “30 of which are currently in the technology integration stage.”
The game library will grow quickly with new games planned to be released every week – although most of them will be games already available on the App Store, rather than exclusives. Apple also has no plans to ban controversial games, such as pornographic or gambling games, from the Apple market. Emulators will be allowed “if they do not infringe intellectual property rights,” but these are already an emerging category in Apple’s own stores.
So, what are the main selling points? What content does Aptoide provide users that cannot be found on the App Store? In addition to the current list of grim “curated” games, one element Trezentos pointed out is the way Aptoide combines a freemium model with a rewards structure.
Aptoide is the first third-party marketplace to use an Apple-approved in-app purchase system. For users, this means that all games will be free to play, but some will include in-app purchases. What differs this from the App Store is that Aptoide will offer “rewards” to users who frequently spend within the app, offering a 5% to 10% discount on each purchase.
Earth-shattering? Maybe not – but Aptoide’s approach to developers might give the store some traction.
Aptoide pays developers $1,000 to $2,000
According to Trezentos, Aptoide is “developer-oriented,” which is reflected in the way it charges. It charges developers 20% for organic in-app purchases generated by the Aptoide iOS Marketplace, and 10% in all other cases, such as when developers independently advertise and drive app downloads . In the Android store, Aptoide charges 25% and 10% respectively. Apple, on the other hand, charges 30% across the board.
In addition, Aptoide pays developers between $1,000 and $2,000 to launch a game on its iOS platform, and those who include in-app purchases in their software will receive higher fees. amount. The company also collects a core technology fee from in-app purchases, which is 50 euro cents per year for installed markets.
This core technology fee approach differs from Setapp Mobile and AltStore PAL stores, which pass the fee directly to the user as part of the subscription. Aptoide is in an interesting position because it was the first third-party iOS app store that people could use for free.
This is what really sets Aptoide apart. Since it is free to use, it can reach a wider audience and thus attract more developers. In turn, the developer-friendliness of the store could lead to a plethora of quality games that appeal to the masses. To some extent, there’s potential there.
My concerns with Aptoide are threefold: its reliance on in-app purchases; the quality of its titles; and its competitiveness compared to the App Store.
We’re still in the early stages of third-party app stores
While in-app purchases are a financially successful business model, they are generally despised by tech enthusiasts. Who are most likely to download third-party app stores in the EU? bookworm. If the library only contains basic games of the type available at launch (and many games are already available on Apple platforms), then there’s no reason to go through the tedious process of installing a third-party app store? I’m not sure a small discount in the form of a bonus would be enough to encourage the public at large to get involved.
But let’s not forget that we are still in the early days of third-party app stores. Aptoide and Setapp Mobile are still in closed beta, and AltStore PAL hasn’t even started hosting other developers’ apps yet. Many sideloading fans may have hoped for a quick change, but that’s not the case.
Three months on, the launch of alternative app stores in Europe so far has done little to jeopardize Apple’s monopoly, and you know Cupertino is pretty happy with it.
