Developers have earned over $80 billion in total from the Google Play Store

Hiroshi Lockheimer, SVP at Google, has confirmed on Twitter that to date, developers have earned over $80 billion in total from the Google Play Store globally, excluding the Chinese market (where Google services are not available). This was announced soon after Alphabet’s Q4 earnings call. The disclosure of the cumulative figure motivates software developers to publish their apps on the Play Store, which is the largest app market in the world.

Today, @sundarpichai shared that developers around the world (excl. China) have earned more than $80 billion to date on @GooglePlay. Our platform can’t succeed without the help of our developer ecosystem, so a huge thank you for all you do!

— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) February 4, 2020

On one hand, the $80 billion amount is definitely an impressive one. However, it pales in comparison to Apple’s more lucrative App Store. In January 2019, Apple confirmed that developers had earned $120 billion from the App Store since 2008. The Play Store was also launched in 2008, although it was then known as the Android Market. Considering that Android has an overwhelming market share advantage globally over iOS, the perception of the $80 billion figure can be viewed in a different light. The disparity in the amount can be easily explained, however. There are more free apps on the Play Store. While app downloads on the Play Store are reportedly higher than the App Store, the higher price tags of Apple devices means that users are more likely to buy paid applications in contrast to users from the developing world, who largely rely on free apps monetized by ads. The demographics of Android and iOS users are different, which has a direct correlation with the earnings of developers on the respective app platforms.

Google hasn’t disclosed the details of the $80 billion amount, so we don’t precisely know which regions are the ones where developers earn the most money from. The actual sales figure of applications on the Play Store will be higher, as Google takes a 30% cut of all developer sales. Android continues to be the most popular operating system globally, but equally, smartphone sales are declining in Western markets because of maturity and saturation. The opportunities for developers are in emerging markets, which have rapidly moved to a mobile-first era. Therefore, it would be fair to expect the $80 billion amount to rise over the next few years.

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You can now recharge prepaid phone plans from some Indian carriers through Google Search

Google is adding a new feature to Google Search in India which will allow users to easily top-up their prepaid mobile connections. The feature comes at a time when major players in the Indian telecom space are struggling and have recently increased the tariff of some of their prepaid recharge packs. As per a recent blog post from Google, users will now be able to search for information on mobile recharges and instantly recharge their connection right from the search results.

Searching for queries related to mobile recharges, with keywords like “prepaid mobile recharge”, will bring up a new Mobile Recharge section in the search results. The feature can automatically capture your phone number, service provider, and circle, after which it shows a list of all the available prepaid plans for your phone number. In case you wish to recharge a different number, you also get the option to manually input the number, operator, and circle to browse plans for the other number.

Once you select a plan, you’re redirected to a Checkout page which offers various modes of payment for the recharge. At the time of writing, the checkout options included popular eWallets like Freecharge, PayTM and MobiKwik, along with Google Pay. Selecting any mode of payment automatically redirects you to the provider’s website/app to complete the payment. The recharge confirmation page also shows you relevant customer support information. As of now, the new feature in Google Search is available only for signed-in users on Android. The feature offers prepaid plans from all major providers, including Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, Jio, and BSNL.

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Source: Google

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You can now recharge prepaid phone plans from some Indian carriers through Google Search

Google is adding a new feature to Google Search in India which will allow users to easily top-up their prepaid mobile connections. The feature comes at a time when major players in the Indian telecom space are struggling and have recently increased the tariff of some of their prepaid recharge packs. As per a recent blog post from Google, users will now be able to search for information on mobile recharges and instantly recharge their connection right from the search results.

Searching for queries related to mobile recharges, with keywords like “prepaid mobile recharge”, will bring up a new Mobile Recharge section in the search results. The feature can automatically capture your phone number, service provider, and circle, after which it shows a list of all the available prepaid plans for your phone number. In case you wish to recharge a different number, you also get the option to manually input the number, operator, and circle to browse plans for the other number.

Once you select a plan, you’re redirected to a Checkout page which offers various modes of payment for the recharge. At the time of writing, the checkout options included popular eWallets like Freecharge, PayTM and MobiKwik, along with Google Pay. Selecting any mode of payment automatically redirects you to the provider’s website/app to complete the payment. The recharge confirmation page also shows you relevant customer support information. As of now, the new feature in Google Search is available only for signed-in users on Android. The feature offers prepaid plans from all major providers, including Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, Jio, and BSNL.

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Source: Google

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Xiaomi explains why its 100W fast charging isn’t ready yet

When we think of fast charging, generally speaking, Xiaomi isn’t the first company that pops into our heads. While they debuted some of the fastest wireless charging on the Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro 5G late last year, the company has always been relatively quiet when it comes to charging. That is with one exception – 100W wired charging. Xiaomi demoed their 100w wired charging in March of last year, which promised a 0-100% charging speed in just 17 minutes. We’ve not really heard anything else about it since, and while people though it could come with the Mi 10 Pro, it’s already more or less confirmed that the Mi 10 Pro will support “only” 66W charging. Lu Weibing, general manager of Redmi and Vice President of Xiaomi Group, has confirmed on Weibo that we may be waiting a little while longer to see Xiaomi’s 100W charging reach a commercial device.

This wait comes largely thanks to limitations of the technology, both from a safety and a practical standpoint. The first issue mentioned by Lu is that the capacity of a 100W fast-charging battery is approximately 20% less than that of a regular, 30W charging battery. “According to preliminary estimates, the capacity of a 100W fast charge battery is about 20% less than that of a 30W PD fast charge. In short, 5,000mAh becomes 4,000mAh,” Lu said, according to a Google translation of the Weibo post. Lu briefly mentions the power requirements of 5G as another reason for wanting to have a bigger battery rather than faster charging.

As previously mentioned, safety is also of great concern for Xiaomi, and so multiple safeguards and protections need to be built into the device. The technology behind 100W fast charging is very specific and will need to be tailored to the device that it is charging. All hope is not lost however, as Lu says that we can still expect to see it in the future. The only issue is that it’s not coming to devices any time soon.

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Source: Weibo

Via: Android Authority

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Xiaomi explains why its 100W fast charging isn’t ready yet

When we think of fast charging, generally speaking, Xiaomi isn’t the first company that pops into our heads. While they debuted some of the fastest wireless charging on the Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro 5G late last year, the company has always been relatively quiet when it comes to charging. That is with one exception – 100W wired charging. Xiaomi demoed their 100w wired charging in March of last year, which promised a 0-100% charging speed in just 17 minutes. We’ve not really heard anything else about it since, and while people though it could come with the Mi 10 Pro, it’s already more or less confirmed that the Mi 10 Pro will support “only” 66W charging. Lu Weibing, general manager of Redmi and Vice President of Xiaomi Group, has confirmed on Weibo that we may be waiting a little while longer to see Xiaomi’s 100W charging reach a commercial device.

This wait comes largely thanks to limitations of the technology, both from a safety and a practical standpoint. The first issue mentioned by Lu is that the capacity of a 100W fast-charging battery is approximately 20% less than that of a regular, 30W charging battery. “According to preliminary estimates, the capacity of a 100W fast charge battery is about 20% less than that of a 30W PD fast charge. In short, 5,000mAh becomes 4,000mAh,” Lu said, according to a Google translation of the Weibo post. Lu briefly mentions the power requirements of 5G as another reason for wanting to have a bigger battery rather than faster charging.

As previously mentioned, safety is also of great concern for Xiaomi, and so multiple safeguards and protections need to be built into the device. The technology behind 100W fast charging is very specific and will need to be tailored to the device that it is charging. All hope is not lost however, as Lu says that we can still expect to see it in the future. The only issue is that it’s not coming to devices any time soon.

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Source: Weibo

Via: Android Authority

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OnePlus overtook Samsung to become the #1 premium brand in India in 2019

It seems like Samsung is having a tough time in the Indian market despite seeing significant growth in market share in Q4 2019. Late last month, Counterpoint Research’s Q4 2019 Market Monitor report revealed that the company had lost ground to Chinese OEM Vivo in the country. As per the report, Vivo saw a 76% YoY growth in 2019 and 132% YoY in just Q4 2019, which helped it capture a market share of 21% in the last quarter. Samsung, on the other hand, slid down to the third place, with a 19% market share. Now, a separate report from Counterpoint Research claims that Samsung also took a hit in the premium smartphone segment, with OnePlus moving up to claim the top spot.

The report reveals that India’s smartphone shipment in the premium segment (≥₹30,000 or around $420) grew 29% YoY, reaching a record high in 2019. OnePlus capitalized on this growth with its OnePlus 7/7T series and its shipments grew 28% YoY. This helped the company capture a third of India’s premium smartphone segment. The company also became the first-ever premium smartphone brand to cross two million shipments in a year last year. Additionally, OnePlus’ ultra-premium devices (≥₹45,000 or around $632) helped OnePlus’ portfolio grow 25%, with the OnePlus 7 Pro at the helm.

As a result, Samsung slid to the second spot and saw a decline of 2% YoY in the premium segment. Its Galaxy S10 Plus was the top-selling flagship in 2019, irrespective of the availability of cheaper variants like the Galaxy S10e. Due to this, Samsung’s ultra-premium smartphone shipments grew by 24% YoY and the segment’s contribution to Samsung’s overall premium shipment reached 79%, compared to 62% in 2018. In response to the decline, Samsung recently launched the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite, which offer premium specifications at a relatively affordable price.

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Source: Counterpoint Research

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OnePlus overtook Samsung to become the #1 premium brand in India in 2019

It seems like Samsung is having a tough time in the Indian market despite seeing significant growth in market share in Q4 2019. Late last month, Counterpoint Research’s Q4 2019 Market Monitor report revealed that the company had lost ground to Chinese OEM Vivo in the country. As per the report, Vivo saw a 76% YoY growth in 2019 and 132% YoY in just Q4 2019, which helped it capture a market share of 21% in the last quarter. Samsung, on the other hand, slid down to the third place, with a 19% market share. Now, a separate report from Counterpoint Research claims that Samsung also took a hit in the premium smartphone segment, with OnePlus moving up to claim the top spot.

The report reveals that India’s smartphone shipment in the premium segment (≥₹30,000 or around $420) grew 29% YoY, reaching a record high in 2019. OnePlus capitalized on this growth with its OnePlus 7/7T series and its shipments grew 28% YoY. This helped the company capture a third of India’s premium smartphone segment. The company also became the first-ever premium smartphone brand to cross two million shipments in a year last year. Additionally, OnePlus’ ultra-premium devices (≥₹45,000 or around $632) helped OnePlus’ portfolio grow 25%, with the OnePlus 7 Pro at the helm.

As a result, Samsung slid to the second spot and saw a decline of 2% YoY in the premium segment. Its Galaxy S10 Plus was the top-selling flagship in 2019, irrespective of the availability of cheaper variants like the Galaxy S10e. Due to this, Samsung’s ultra-premium smartphone shipments grew by 24% YoY and the segment’s contribution to Samsung’s overall premium shipment reached 79%, compared to 62% in 2018. In response to the decline, Samsung recently launched the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite, which offer premium specifications at a relatively affordable price.

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Source: Counterpoint Research

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