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China’s Android Turf War Faces A Regulatory Reckoning

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In China’s huge yet semi-walled smartphone market, a long-simmering feud between handset makers and software developers is finally boiling over.

For years, domestic Android phone brands have leveraged their control of devices and app distribution to tilt the playing field in their favor. They’ve built their own app stores and services on top of Android – effectively replicating Apple’s closed ecosystem model – and positioned themselves as gatekeepers between developers and China’s hundreds of millions of users. This entrenched hardware-versus-software conflict stayed largely out of the spotlight, but now Chinese regulators are stepping in, signaling that the era of unchecked platform power may be nearing its end.

Hardware-Software Feud: From “Hardcore Alliance” to 50% App Tax

As Android’s global services (like Google Play) never officially took root in China, domestic manufacturers filled the void with their own app marketplaces, pre-installed apps, and custom interfaces. This arrangement gave phonemakers leverage well beyond the hardware itself. Control over operating systems – from default apps and permissions to distribution channels – became a powerful commercial tool. Accessing China’s massive Android user base often meant software firms had to accept onerous terms set by the phone makers. Over time, that leverage solidified into what developers describe as a de facto “hardcore alliance” of top phonemakers jointly dictating app market economics.

One outcome was sky-high commission rates. Domestic Android app stores steadily drove up their revenue share on app sales and in-app purchases, in some cases demanding 50% of transaction value – far above the 30% cut that Apple and Google take globally. (NetEase founder Ding Lei publicly blasted this “Android tax” in early 2021, arguing there was “no reason” Chinese channels should take 50% when overseas platforms take 30%.) At the same time, developers accused handset makers of using technical tactics to favor their own services and hobble rivals’ apps. Complaints ranged from traffic hijacking (diverting user clicks into the manufacturer’s apps) and forced redirects, to deliberate incompatibility errors that made third-party apps difficult or impossible to use. In essence, China’s Android giants turned the smartphone into a gatekeeper walled garden – one that they collectively profited from, at developers’ expense.

The consequences have been tangible. NetEase, one of China’s biggest game publishers, has openly rebelled against these practices. After voicing discontent with app store commissions, NetEase began withdrawing its hit games from certain Android app stores in protest. Since late 2024 it has pulled popular titles like Onmyoji and Minecraft from Oppo’s app market – even removing some games from Huawei and Vivo stores – forcing players onto NetEase’s own channels. Tencent made a similar move this year: in June, it yanked the highly anticipated Dungeon & Fighter Mobile off Huawei, Oppo and Vivo’s stores after revenue-sharing talks broke down. (Alibaba’s gaming unit also pulled two major titles from Vivo’s platform around the same time.) These acts of defiance by industry giants underscore how contentious the 50% cut and restrictive policies had become. Smaller studios, however, have little choice but to comply – few can afford to forego the visibility that preloaded app stores provide. With truly independent app marketplaces now squeezed to under 10% of the market, developers who refuse the dominant channels risk disappearing from Chinese users’ screens.

In November 2023, third-party app store TapTap publicly accused a major smartphone brand of using built-in ‘security protection’ features to block users from downloading games from third-party marketplaces, effectively forcing developers to accept high revenue-sharing terms. TapTap also said the brand deliberately introduced excessive friction when users attempted to download or install non-partner games, directly harming user experience.

Phone manufacturers haven’t relied only on high commissions to lock in their advantage. They’ve also engineered their systems to actively discourage users from downloading apps via any outside source. Attempts to install an app from a third-party website or alternative app store trigger a gauntlet of warnings and roadblocks: the phone will flash security alerts (e.g. “unverified source” or “potential risk”) and prompt the user to confirm multiple times, even requiring passwords or fingerprint scans. In some cases a “Find similar apps” button appears, which funnels the user back to the phone’s own app store. Meanwhile, installing that very same app through the official store is seamless. It’s a psychological and technical barrier explicitly designed to deter deviation. This friction works – surveys show roughly 65% of users abandon the installation if faced with such warnings. By exploiting their control of the operating system under the pretext of “security,” phonemakers have effectively corralled users into staying within their walled gardens, to the detriment of third-party app platforms and consumer choice.

Regulators Step In: New Rules of Fair Play

It was only a matter of time before Beijing’s regulators took notice of these unfair tactics. In late November, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) convened major smartphone companies in Shenzhen to issue compliance guidance under the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. The meeting – notable for its stern tone – called out specific behaviors that officials deemed problematic. Rather than speaking in generalities, SAMR officials explicitly denounced “irrational competition” in the mobile sector, highlighting traffic hijacking, forced redirects, and malicious incompatibility as practices that disrupt market order and harm consumers’ rights. In regulatory terms, Beijing is drawing a bright red line: tactics long used by Chinese Android vendors to sideline competitors are now being framed as illegal anti-competitive conduct, not acceptable industry norms.

Crucially, the regulators are focusing on conduct over market share. Unlike a traditional monopoly scenario, China’s Android ecosystem is fragmented among several big players rather than dominated by one. SAMR’s guidance makes clear that even without a single firm controlling the market, certain exclusionary behaviors can still violate the law. In March, China’s Supreme Court underscored this point by issuing a judicial interpretation that using technical means to obstruct a rival’s software or services constitutes unfair competition, regardless of the offender’s size. The message: platform power comes with responsibility, and abuse of that power won’t be excused simply because no one company has a 90% market share. Regulators instructed phone makers to audit their software practices, strengthen internal compliance, and align with the newly revised anti-unfair competition rules. In other words, behavior that once flew under the radar must now be checked against China’s competition law – or risk enforcement.

This intervention by SAMR also aligns with a broader global shift in how regulators view Big Tech gatekeepers. Around the world, authorities are reining in platform operators’ control over app ecosystems. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), for example, imposes sweeping obligations on tech “gatekeepers” to open up their systems. South Korea now bans app store operators from forcing developers to use in-house payment systems, targeting the kind of practices that gave rise to its own “app store law” in 2021. And in the United States, ongoing antitrust lawsuits continue to challenge whether companies like Apple and Google can justify closed app distribution on security or user-experience grounds. Courts, too, are casting a skeptical eye. In a recent Australian case, a federal judge rejected the notion that having a single app store is necessary for security, noting that as long as safety standards are uniformly applied, openness and safety are not mutually exclusive. The court pointed out that Apple provided no solid evidence that allowing multiple app stores would inevitably create a “security disaster,” undercutting a key argument often used to defend closed ecosystems. This international context bolsters SAMR’s stance – it suggests that China’s regulators are moving in step with a global rethinking of how much control device and platform owners should wield.

New Boundaries for China’s Tech Giants – and What’s Next

China’s mobile ecosystem may be unique, but the implications of SAMR’s move are clear: the country’s smartphone heavyweights will have to adjust. Tactics that Chinese handset makers long treated as standard business practice – from aggressive app store commissions to deeply embedded software hurdles – are now explicitly on notice. By naming and shaming these behaviors, regulators have effectively turned them into compliance risks. For the likes of Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and others, this likely means re-evaluating their playbooks. App stores and pre-loaded services have been lucrative, especially with games yielding up to 50% commission, but those revenue models may need to be tempered under stricter scrutiny. The immediate guidance from SAMR didn’t come with fines or formal penalties attached, but it fired a warning shot: if the “hardcore alliance” continues to flout fair competition principles, stronger enforcement could follow. Notably, SAMR has shown it’s willing to get tough – in recent years it has levied major antitrust fines on domestic tech firms like Alibaba and Meituan for abusing market position.

For software developers and content providers, the regulator’s intervention is a hopeful sign – albeit not a cure-all. The new guidance by itself won’t dismantle the dominance of the built-in app stores overnight; the mobile giants’ grip on distribution remains firm for now. However, developers finally have the weight of official policy on their side of the argument. Long-standing grievances about traffic blocking or “security” pop-ups steering users away from outside apps have now been validated as legitimate competition concerns in the eyes of the law. This could embolden developers to lodge complaints or pursue legal action if such practices persist, knowing there is clear legal language and political will to back them up. In the medium term, we may also see alternate app channels – from third-party app stores to mini-program platforms – gain more traction if regulators ensure they’re not unfairly hindered. The mere fact that authorities are watching this space more closely may prompt the smartphone makers to voluntarily ease some restrictions to avoid regulatory wrath.

Ultimately, what’s at stake in this clash is not just a few percentage points of app commission, but the future structure of China’s digital marketplace. The hardware-software tug-of-war in China’s mobile sector will not resolve overnight – the incentives (and profits) that drive manufacturers to tighten their ecosystems remain powerful. Yet the ground rules are undeniably shifting. Regulators have made it clear that unchecked, system-level leverage by hardware firms is no longer tenable. The coming months will test how sincerely China’s phonemakers heed this call. Will they embrace a more open approach, or quietly find new ways to preserve their walled gardens? The answer will help determine whether China’s next digital decade is defined by a closed “garden” controlled by a few gatekeepers, or a more open environment where all apps and developers can compete on equal footing. For now, one thing is certain: the rules of engagement in China’s mobile industry have been redrawn, and everyone – from phonemakers to app developers – is on notice.



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Galaxy TriFold Revealed, OnePlus 15’s American Adventure, Pixel 10a Pricing

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December 6, 2025

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Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines across the Android world, including the Galaxy Z TriFold arrives, Galaxy S26 Ultra specs, the new Exynos promise, Pixel 10a pricing, Nubia Fold details, OnePlus 15 heads to America, and Google’s QPR2 source code released.

Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Android in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Apple news here on Forbes.

The Galaxy’s Number Is Now Three

Samsung has launched the highly anticipated Galaxy Z TriFold, a foldable device with three screen elements and two hinges to offer a pocketable phone and a tablet screen that is significantly less square than other foldable devices in the South Korean company’s portfolio. It’s a technical marvel, but it may not be the best seller some in the community are looking for:

“It will be available more widely, but no date has yet been attached. “Samsung Electronics will launch the ‘Galaxy Z Trifold’ in Korea on the 12th and then launch it sequentially to global markets such as China, Taiwan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States,” Samsung said in a newsroom post. No exact date yet, then, though I’d be astonished if it was before 2026.”

The Galaxy S26 Comparison

What will be a best seller, all being well, will be the Galaxy S26 family. With specifications widely available, albeit unconfirmed by Samsung, it’s possible to compare the upcoming S26 devices with the current S25 models. As the flagship, the Galaxy 26 Ultra has the most scrutiny:

“Samsung is switching to a new 6.9-inch M14 AMOLED panel, although it probably will not get much brighter. European users will likely only get 12GB RAM, compared with 16GB in other regions such as China. At least Samsung fans around the world will probably get to enjoy the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 instead of the Exynos 2600.”

Here Comes The Exynos

Samsung has confirmed its flagship Exynos 2600 chipset. This will draw direct comparison to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 chipset, which is currently debuting in premium handsets across the Android space. The Samsung community has generally preferred Snapdragon over Exynos, at least on the top-tier Galaxy Ultra handsets. The S26 Ultra is still expected to ship in the first quarter of 2026 with a Snapdragon chipset, but Exynos could dominate the other handsets in the S26 family. Sammobile’s Asif Shak has more:

“A teaser video of the Exynos 2600 was just published by Samsung on its YouTube channel. In the video, the company says, “In silence, we listened,” hinting at controversies around performance and overheating issues associated with some previous Exynos chips. It is the South Korean firm’s indirect way of saying it understands the criticism around its chips and that it intends to improve upon their shortcomings.”

The Pixel 10a Price Conundrum

Google’s next smartphone is expected to be the Pixel 10a, which will bring the latest AI-focused hardware and smartphone technology to the mid-range. It’s expected to remain at $499, but there are still questions that need to be addressed.I took a closer look at these earlier this week.

“A more interesting question on the price will be around the pricing in the Google Store. The Pixel 9a has been discounted by $100 in the US store for a long time before the Pixel Black Friday offers. There’s every chance that the discount stays in place for Christmas. Will this forever discount carry on into the new year? What happens when the Pixel 10a arrives? Does the Pixel 9a remain discounted, and does the Pixel 10a lock in at $499 for the summer? Or does the continued use of older silicon see the 9a quietly removed from the portfolio, leaving the Pixel 10a as he sole ‘A-class’ on sale as a new handset?”

Nubia Fold Details Published

The first folding smartphone from Nubia has been confirmed by Japanese network Y!mobile. The Nubia Fold has appeared on its website, with a list price of 178,560 yen ($1,145). Given the specs, this is a very competitive offer, especially if this Fold gets a global release. GSM Arena has collected the specs, including the all-important display.

“The nubia Fold features an 8-inch main display with 2,480 x 2,200px resolution and a 6.5-inch cover screen with 2,748 x 1,172px resolution. Both panels offer 120Hz refresh rates, and the main panel supports split view modes for certain apps…

America Is Ready For The OnePlus 15

Following its global release, those looking for the OnePlus 15 in the United States were left in limbo. Without FCC certification, the device cannot go on sale, and with the government shutdown, no certification could be issued. Well, that hurdle has now passed. As GSMArena notes, the FCC is back in business, the certification has been issued, and the OnePlus 15’s US adventure is set to continue.

And Finally…

Google has released the source code for its latest Android update, feeding it back into the open-source community. Given the two-month delay in the release of Android 16’s QPR1, the community is taking the almost immediate release of QPR2 as a positive sign.

“Given that context, some developers worried Google might repeat that strategy and withhold Android 16 QPR2’s source code for an unspecified time. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened. Google started uploading Android 16 QPR2’s source code almost immediately after releasing the update. This suggests the previous delay was indeed tied to the mid-cycle Pixel Drop, and that today’s update — while not officially labeled a Pixel Drop — is one in all but name.

Android Circuit rounds up the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future, and of course, read the sister column in Apple Loop! Last week’s Android Circuit can be found here, and if you have any news and links you’d like to see featured in Android Circuit, get in touch!



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iPhone 17 Pro Display Issues, Apple’s Satellite Upgrades, Four New MacBook Pro Models

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December 6, 2025

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Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from across the Apple world, including iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 sales success, balancing iOS 18 and iOS 26, four new MacBooks, Apple Satellite upgrades, moving to Meta, and the Christmas Tree lights are turned on.

Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Apple in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes.

An iPhone 17 Pro Display Warning

Apple’s new cover on the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max displays has increased the protection on offer. Ceramic Shield 2 also increases scratch resistance and reduces reflections. Yet its interaction with some screen protectors reduces the anti-reflection technology, which requires direct contact with air. An iPhone 17 study by Astropad has taken a closer look at the impact of a screen protector. Forbes contributor David Phelan looks at the options you have:

“[the report] goes on to say that some screen protectors, when placed on top of Ceramic Shield 2, doubled the amount of reflectivity on the display. An anti-reflective coating is desirable, so this result is not.

“The study promotes Astropad’s Fresh Coat solution as a way or reducing reflectivity, though you could argue that it might be an even better solution to not put any protector on at all, if Apple’s claims of less scratchability prove correct — and they haven’t been widely disproved yet”

Apple Reaps iPhone 17 Rewards

The success of the iPhone 17 in global markets is having a positive effect on the iPhone market. New research from IDC suggests that Apple is on course to grow sales by more than six percent, in large part due to the vanilla iPhone’s adoption by the Chinese market. Juli Clover takes a closer look at the numbers:

“Total 2025 shipments are forecast to grow 6.1 percent year over year due to iPhone 17 demand and increased sales in China, a major market for Apple. Overall worldwide smartphone shipments across Android and iOS are forecast to grow 1.5 percent, primarily because of the success of the iPhone.”

The Balance Between iOS 18 and iOS 26

Since the launch of the iPhone 17 and iOS 26, Apple has been supporting iOS 18 for older incompatible iPhones and for users who are not yet ready — for whatever reason — to upgrade their phones. While the updated versions of iOS 18 are still available, the UI has been reconfigured to highlight iOS 26 and minimze the visibility of iOS 18.

“…the iPhone’s Software Update screen now features iOS 26.1 prominently, while iOS 18.7.2 has been demoted to ‘alternate version’ status. Users may now see a badge on the Settings app indicating the new update is available, but it won’t be installed without direct user action. For major OS upgrades, users need to manually install the new version even when they have ‘Automatic updates’ turned on.:

Three New MacBooks Before One Big Boss

This week saw a rush of details around Apple’s plans for the MacBook. While the M5 chipset has made a soft debut, 2026 should see more variants going on sale throughout the year. These will include a low-cost MacBook that will likely compete with Chromebooks, an update to the MacBook Air and the introduction of an M5 Pro MacBook Pro model. As for the fourth model…

“The biggest update arrives later in the year. Both Kuo and Gurman say Apple is working on a redesigned MacBook Pro with M6 chips and OLED displays. These machines are expected to bring some of the most dramatic changes in years, including …OLED panels with deeper blacks, higher contrast, and better power efficiency …Touch-screen support while keeping the full keyboard and trackpad.”

The Benfits And Cost Of Apple Satellite

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has revealed Apple’s plans for satellite connectivity, including navigation in Apple Maps, support for sending photos in Messages, and an API to allow developers to offer satellite connectivity. The question now is who pays for the services?

“Today, Apple’s satellite connectivity features are available for free. For more advanced capabilities in the future, Apple reportedly plans to let customers pay satellite carriers for features directly. Apple could also create a paid option for extended connectivity with a company like SpaceX. Gurman added that there have been discussions in the company about offering its own satellite service, but concerns that Apple shouldn’t act like a carrier have stifled that possibility.”

Apple To Meta Moves

One of Apple’s longest-tenured executives is leaving the company to join Meta. Alan Dye has been the head of Apple’s user interface design team for ten years. Meta’s move is seen as a precursor to designing and releasing new hardware, and will start work as Chief Design Officer on Dec. 31. Apple confirmed the move in a statement provided to Bloomberg News:

“Steve Lemay has played a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999,” Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said in the statement. “He has always set an extraordinarily high bar for excellence and embodies Apple’s culture of collaboration and creativity.”

And Finally…

The annual Christmas Tree reveal at Apple’s offices in Battersea, South London. Previously, Apple turned to noted designers and artists. This year twenty-four designs by the public are in rotation until Christmas Eve:

“Apple’s annual holiday projections go live at 5 p.m. U.K. time on Thursday, Dec. 4. These projections light up the 330-feet chimneys and washtowers of the Battersea Power Station in south London, Apple’s U.K. HQ. This year, for the first time, members of the public could submit their designs: Apple has just revealed the winners, and they look great.””

Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.



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Antigravity A1 Is A New Drone With New Tricks

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December 5, 2025

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Over the past two years DJI and Insta360 — two tech giants which have respectively dominated the drone and 360 camera field — have increasingly ventured into the other brand’s territory. After years of making similar performing smartphone gimbals and small action cameras, DJI launched its first ever 360 camera a couple months ago, and now Insta360 is introducing a drone under its new sub-brand Antigravity.

The A1 weighs 249g, just under the 250g standard set by many countries that would require registration. This means you can bring this drone into countries and fly it without hassle. In fact, during my testing period I brought the A1 to Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong and Indonesia without being stopped at the airport. While the Antigravity A1 may look like a typical DJI consumer drone at first glance, it has a fundamentally different approach to documenting the skies, which also alters how the pilot controls the drone. This is a good thing, because DJI’s consumer drones are already near flawless, so Antigravity’s new drone going in a new direction is a fresh take.

The A1 differs from any other drone on the market because it shoots 360-degree videos, just like parent company Insta360’s X series of cameras. In fact, the lens on the A1 are almost the same as the lens on the Insta360 X5: a pair of 1/1.28-inch lenses that each shoot 180-degree field-of-view videos, and with some clever software stitching, the two footage produces a single 360-degree video that covers the entire canvas.

Once the A1 is in the air, the pilot will be able to see an entire 360-degree view of the sky from the headset, which resembles a VR headset or Apple Vision Pro.

Piloting the drone is done via a remote control made up of various dials, buttons and triggers, and is designed to be operated with one hand. The user can navigate the drone using the dials on the controller, or simply by moving and pointing the remote controller, as it has a built-in gyroscope. So in other words, if you want to turn left, you can either rotate the dial left, or simply point the controller left.

The footage captured by the drone is in 8k resolution, but you have to remember this is 8k resolution spread across an entire 360-degree canvas, so footage looks clean, but not “razor sharp” like an 8K television footage would look. When the drone is airborne, the goggles show me the entire 360 view, and I have to either move my head, or spin the drone, to see my entire surroundings. I can also look up and down. The experience feels like an immersive VR video, but showing me real-time footage from the drone.

As someone who’s afraid of heights, the first time I looked down from the drone’s perspective gave me a scare, because it looked and felt so real.

You can see actual video footage from the drone in the video below. You can see the experience can be quite immersive.

A major advantage of having a 360 camera instead of the conventional regular camera on a DJI drone is that the A1 captures everything in one go, so you don’t have to worry about framing, or missing a scene. For example, if I am shooting a skateboarder or a mountain biker with a DJI drone, I may have to do a retake if the first flight didn’t frame and capture the person correctly. Maybe I flew the drone too low and the framing cropped off part of the subject’s face, or maybe the drone was too high and didn’t record the landing. But with the A1, since it captures everything, there would be no such worries.

Of course, one disadvantage of the A1 is that a 360 camera has so many pixels to cover that videos aren’t going to be quite as sharp as a dedicated conventional camera with a narrower field-of-view.

The Antigravity A1, being a flagship drone with excellent 360 cameras, doesn’t come cheap. The cheapest option is the standard bundle which retails for $1,600, and there are higher tier bundles (with more accessories) that go for around $1,700 or $1,800. But this is the price of premium flagship drones, and at least the A1 can claim to be able to capture footage no other drone can do.



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