google Photo:VCG

Google has said it will no longer allow any apps that bypass its payment system into the Google Play store, which means Google will take 30 percent of in-app purchases from developers, the same as Apple.

Analysts said Google's new billing policy will offer an opportunity to Chinese mobile phone producers to go global and break monopolies, with a lower cut from app developers.

Starting August 2, 2021, all new apps using Play Billing must use the Billing Library version 3 or newer, Google said on Monday on its Android developer website. Google also clarified its billing policy as some developers were confused about which transactions would have to use the Google app store billing system. For apps from the Google Play store, Google charges 30 percent from in-app purchases, according to its policy. 

But some developers, including Netflix and Spotify, have bypassed this requirement by encouraging users to pay directly with their credit cards, the New York Times reported.

"There is no 'Android tax' for Android in China, because each mobile phone manufacturer has its own app store. Of course, the manufacturers' app stores also take a certain percentage of each transaction, but the amount is less and it's more flexible than Google," Pan Helin, executive director with the digital economy research institute under the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Google and Apple are tied when it comes to digital taxes, known as the Android tax and Apple tax, as Apple also takes a 30 percent cut of in-app payments and subscriptions through the app store. Apple forces users to pay Apple's price for apps by not allowing iOS users to download apps from third-party app stores. 

"Google's latest billing policy represents an opportunity for Chinese handset vendors represented by Huawei and its Huawei Mobile Services, which at one point took a 10 percent cut overseas, and the amount could go even lower to attract customers into the Huawei ecosystem. Chinese mobile phones can enter the international market by breaking monopolies through competition and improving the structure of the ecosystem," said Pan.

Google was prohibited from providing Google apps - including the Play Store - on Huawei's new device models in 2019.

The Android system, developed by Google, is an open source system. Developers can build on the basic version of Android to create a separate operating system for each phone manufacturer, and here Android grabbed a huge market, Wang Peng, assistant professor of the Gaoling School of Artificial Intelligence at the Renmin University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"There's actually a lot of pressure on Android and Google. Although the open source platform is said to be built into the mobile operating system infrastructure, with a good reputation and a large number of users, profitability has been poor. As external markets change and Google's own revenues are under pressure, Google and Android desperately need a profitable niche," Wang said.

This could work as the App store is part of Apple's fast-growing services unit and has brought in twice the revenue of the Google Play Store.