Google Play to Be Challenged for Second Place in App Store Race

It was never the revenue leader of the app industry anyway, yielding to a smaller but more fervent crowd of Apple fans who love to get the most out of their iPhones and iPads. But Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) Google Play platform has still enjoyed a respectable-sized chunk of the app industry's sales by leveraging the massive scale of Android's ecosystem. Google Play generated $29.3 billion worth of revenue last year, according to estimates from Sensor Tower. After taking its 30% cut (or 15% cut for subscriptions), that would translate into about $8 billion in annual app revenue retained by Google. Not bad.

As could have been predicted though, competitors are now gunning for a piece of that business. Reuters reported last week that mobile technology companies Xiaomi (SEHK: 1810), Oppo, Vivo, and possibly Huawei Technologies are uniting to create the Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA) as a means of pushing back against Google's control of the market.

The initial plans are conservative, and Google remains one of the most recognized brands in the world. But Alphabet shareholders should put the initiative on their radars all the same.

Source Fool.com