> But Google can do any thing right? They could push an update that plays Matchbox Twenty on full blast every night at 2am.
Sure, but they are not incentivized to do that. Forcing out competitors is something they're directly incentivized to do because it makes them more money. You can't trust a company not to do what a company exists to do.
The problem is that Google (and Apple) are way too big and powerful, and their pursuit for higher profits is stifling competition, innovation, and hurting the economy.
> doesn't you argument apply to every software publisher?
Not every publisher is immune to market forces the way Google and Apple are. If Spotify started blasting Matchbox Twenty on full blast every night at 2am, they'd go out of business overnight. If Google did it, people would just put their phones in another room when they go to bed.
> Sure, but they are not incentivized to do that. Forcing out competitors is something they're directly incentivized to do because it makes them more money.
Then why even go through the motions of making life easier for app stores right now? Because of antitrust? I guess I'm just not sure why that would change later. Google will still be an antitrust target 5 years from now.
In an ideal world, what would you like Google to do here?
> Then why even go through the motions of making life easier for app stores right now?
We can only speculate. Maybe it's a reaction to the legal issues they're facing right now, both from the DOJ investigation and the Epic lawsuit? Or maybe it's a more cynical plan to kill competitors by letting them think it's smart to invest in a competing store now, only to claw back control in the future and force them to lose customers and go out of business?
Maybe the upcoming changes don't actually make life significantly easier for third-party app stores (AFAIK they haven't shown what the changes actually are), and this is just a BS move to make them look better in the short term.
> In an ideal world, what would you like Google to do here?
Google? Nothing. In an ideal world, tech giants wouldn't be allowed to self-regulate anymore. Google could do whatever they want, but sane and reasonable regulations would keep them in check.
But there are no regulations. This move is (most likely) a reaction to the recent lawsuits and the potential risk of future regulations. For the past 10 years they've done nothing remotely like this, and likely wouldn't have done anything if it weren't for Epic.
note that we still don't really know what exactly it is they're doing, since the blog post was vague on specifics. It could literally be nothing.
But Google can do any thing right? They could push an update that plays Matchbox Twenty on full blast every night at 2am.
What are you suggesting they do, and doesn't you argument apply to every software publisher?