‘That is not acceptable’: Judge orders Google to make rival app store installs easier - The Verge

A San Francisco court under Judge James Donato ordered Google to make installing rival Android app stores easier, removing steps the judge deemed unnecessary "anticompetitive friction" during a hearing on August 13, 2026.
The ruling stems from Epic Games' antitrust case, in which a jury unanimously found nearly three years ago that Google held an illegal monopoly over Android app distribution.
Roughly two years earlier, Donato had ordered Google to carry rival app stores within its own Google Play Store and grant competitors full access to Google's app catalog for several years to remedy the monopoly.
Epic's lawyer Yonatan Even presented a live courtroom demonstration illustrating how many steps are currently required to install competing app stores, arguing Google still makes the process too difficult.
Even showed that searching the Play Store for "store for apps" surfaced physical retailers like Walmart rather than third-party app stores, prompting Donato to react, "That's not good," and demand fixes covering every reasonable search variation.
Google's counsel agreed to implement the changes, while the judge also objected to users being required to press a "view" button before proceeding with an installation.