Apps

Indian developers unite, launch a local app store to bypass Google

Avoiding the 30% tax

Published

October 5, 2020

Shivam Vahia

Paytm, one of India’s largest payments apps has launched a new offering called the Paytm Mini App Store. As the name suggests, it’s supposed to be an Indian alternative of the Google Play Store and already has a host of top apps. The company intends to list 300 services in the coming days.

However, it isn’t a full-fledged app store yet. You won’t be downloading and installing any package and instead, it’ll load a small window within the app and use HTML and JavaScript. Furthermore, Paytm will provide developers access to its payment services including the wallet, payments bank account, and UPI. Right now these services are free and only credit card payments shall incur a 2 percent fee.

When compared to Google or Apple’s 30 percent cut, this sounds like a too good to be true deal. Indian companies have been extremely vocal about Google’s dominance in the country and are in talks with the government to launch an Indian alternative.

For now, the app repository offers brands like Decathlon, Domino’s Pizza, FreshMenu, Netmeds, NoBroker, Ola, and more. The app store is available within the Paytm app and has been under development for the last few months.

A few weeks ago, Paytm’s app was removed from the Play Store because it violated an agreement on gambling restrictions. Paytm says it did not break the agreement and started its vocal campaign against Google. Due to the backlash, Google has postponed its recent announcement that enforced a 30 percent commission on all in-app purchases.

Experts in the industry say that Paytm’s claim of opening an app store is technically false. Currently, you’re simply opening a new app within an existing app. This doesn’t constitute a store because there is no independent and uniform distribution. In a hurry, the company has simply rebranded its Paytm Mini Programs division to Mini App Store.

Apps

Strava is suing Garmin over alleged patent infringements

They want Garmin to stop selling its watches.

Published

October 3, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

It’s always awkward when two of your close friends start to fight. For the fitness-minded, Strava and Garmin are what you might call close friends. And yes, they just got into a fight. In an odd change of heart, Strava is suing Garmin for alleged patent infringement.

The fitness segment in tech has one of the most tight-knit collections of companies. Despite how many of them there are, it’s highly likely that one will work with the other. Strava, for example, works well with Garmin’s smartwatches. The two giants were formerly adamant about working together.

Now, the situation has mysteriously changed. Strava is suing Garmin over patent infringements involving the latter’s segments and heatmaps features. The case also alleges that Garmin violated a Master Cooperation Agreement when the company developed its own heatmap technology.

For compensation, Strava is asking the courts to stop Garmin from selling any of its smartwatches which include the infringing features. That’s pretty concerning when most of Garmin’s devices have those features.

According to an official post on Reddit, the proverbial straw the broke the camel’s back is Garmin’s new policies. Partnered software must now include Garmin’s logo in activity posts. Otherwise, Garmin will reportedly revoke access to its API.

Curiously, as some commenters pointed out, Strava has done the same thing in the past. And, according to DC Rainmaker, who first spotted the case, Garmin doesn’t, in fact, require the logo.

It’s still up in the air whether the litigation will result into anything substantial. However, speculation says that Strava might eventually drop the case since Garmin can definitely retaliate.

Apps

Adobe Premiere now available for free on iPhone

Powerful, fast, and easy video editing for content creators on the go

Published

October 2, 2025

GadgetMatch

In a major development, Adobe has announced that Adobe Premiere is now available for free on Apple iPhone devices.

Optimized into a powerful new app built natively for iOS, Adobe Premiere for iPhone empowers creators to make pro-quality video on the go for free. Upgrades are available for additional generative credits and storage.

The Adobe Premiere mobile app makes it fast and intuitive for creators to edit videos with precision edits, crystal clear voiceovers, and AI effects.

They can likewise access millions of free multimedia assets and send work directly to Premiere desktop for further fine tuning on a larger display if needed.

Naturally, the mobile app is tailor-made for shortform content creation for YouTube (and Shorts), TikTok, Instagram, and more apps.

Meanwhile, streamers can select their best live moments for posting online. Podcasters can likewise clean up dialogue and add studio-quality sound effects on the go.

Among the Adobe Premiere mobile app’s powerful editing capabilities are:

4K HDR editing
frame-accurate editing
bold, animated captions
smooth speed and motion effects
background removal
AI audio tools for studio-quality sound, including Enhance Speech and Generative Sound Effects
free creative assets
one-tap exports to every major social platform

What about Android?

Android device user? Don’t worry. Premiere on Android is currently in development.

Apps

The cheaper YouTube Premium Lite finally enters the Philippines

Get rid of ads for a cheaper price.

Published

October 1, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

As it stands, YouTube Premium might be one of the most bang-for-your-buck subscriptions out there. Besides getting rid of ads on the main platform, a subscription also gives users access to YouTube Music Premium. But what if you don’t care about YouTube’s music services? For that, here comes YouTube Premium Lite.

At only PhP 109 per month, YouTube Premium Lite offers only one thing for subscribers: ad-free viewing. Well, mostly.

While the original subscription will keep all videos ad-free, the new tier offers “most videos ad-free.” Users won’t get ads on ads on videos across “gaming, comedy, cooking, learning, and more.” However, they might still see some ads on music content and Shorts.

The subscription also won’t give users access to YouTube Music Premium. It also won’t allow downloads or background play. As the name says, it’s a Lite subscription.

YouTube started experimenting with the lighter subscription tier early this year. At first, the platform introduced the tier to a few countries. Now, after experimenting with the tier, it is coming to more countries just as it was advertised in the past.

The finalized version of the tier looks pretty much identical to the experimental version. Except, of course, the version in the Philippines is much cheaper than the one abroad.