Google wants to motivate Android developers with financial incentives to support more types of devices. So it is a problem for Google that most developers optimize their apps for Android smartphones but have no interest in other form factors. It then looks lean with unique customizations and features for the broader ecosystem with Wear, Android Auto, Android TV, or Android tablets. The “Play Media Experience Program” should start there.
Google’s idea is simple: If the developers support a wide range of form factors with their media apps for audio, e-books or video, then the commission that Google annualizes on sales via the Play Store drops from 30% to 15%. In any case, Google only takes 15% of developers when their revenues are less than $1 million a year. The new reduction is consequently designed at large providers.
Google even breaks down the whole thing a bit: For video apps, for example, they want the integration of Android TV, Google TV and Chromecast built-in. The audio area will be Wear OS, Android Auto, Android TV, and again Chromecast built-in. As far as e-books are concerned, an optimization for tablets, foldable and the new entertainment space should be a prerequisite for the commission discount. Only if the conditions mentioned above are met will there be a discount.
Other prerequisites are at least 100,000 active installations per month and a “strong rating on Google Play”. Let’s see if Google’s plan works out, and developers can now be motivated.