What you need to know
- A report from inside a recent court visit between Epic Games and Google highlights the lackluster state of its rival app store search process.
- Judge Donato states Google must do better to let users find what they’re looking for and to remove the third-party app store-specific page via the « Are you looking? » banner.
- Recently, Aptoide returned to the Play Store through Google’s Play Catalogue Access Program.
If you thought Google’s battle with Epic and rival app stores was over, think again. New reports claim that a U.S. judge is not happy with how things have progressed.
A report by The Verge walks us through a recent court visit between Epic Games and Google. The reason for the recent court visit is that the former claims the Play Store (Google) is « still making it too difficult to install rival app stores. » Details from inside the courtroom state an Epic lawyer walked U.S. Judge Donato through a brief demo of how difficult the process is.
In the demo, the lawyer showed that typing « store for apps » in the Play Store’s search box provides no such results. Instead, Judge Donato was confused when Walmart appeared. « Wait, why did Walmart come up? » he asked, before stating, « That’s not good. » Judge Donato ordered Google to fix this, stating the Play Store should understand what the user intends to find, no matter how they phrase it.
Another jarring issue is the Play Store’s « are you looking for? » banner that appears frequently when searching for rival app storefronts. As an example, Judge Donato, after viewing a demo, asked, « Why doesn’t it say ‘are you looking for music’ when you type in ‘music store’? » Epic states that if users search for a rival store, the banner forces them to tap on it before sending them to a third-party page for other options.
The Verge highlights Epic’s argument, which says this may deter new stores from placing their store on the Play Store, as well as « big, established » companies like Amazon. Judge Donato also wants this problem corrected. He told Google, « Take off the ‘are you looking for’ screen, there’s no purpose for that. There’s a friction there that has no purpose whatsoever. »
Judge Donato expects these changes to arrive on the Play Store within one week.
Do better
Interestingly enough, Aptoide was mentioned in this report. Earlier this week, Aptoide returned to the Google Play Store. This app store was previously removed from Google’s store under its old ruleset that prevented such competition. Aptoide was allowed to return to the Play Store through Google’s new Play Catalogue Access Program. Qualifying third-party stores are allowed to publish their stores on the Play Store through this program.
This program was the result of Epic and Google’s long-standing anti-competitive battle over how the Play Store operated. We’d been down this road for years. In 2025, the Epic Games Store was allowed on the Play Store, in what CEO Tim Sweeney called a « total victory. » Epic had accused Google of having anti-competitive practices against third-party developers. This kickstarted a long battle between the two companies, and Samsung even got roped into the fray.
Android Central’s Take
This is all about choice. It’s all about not scaring users into thinking they’re doing something wrong when they’re not. Epic argued that Google deployed « disadvantages » and scare tactics when users attempted to sideload its apps. Users were given pop-ups that made it seem like a security risk. It didn’t leave Google in a positive light. Now, third-party app stores can display their content. Display their alternative path for users looking for something different.
