The popular alternative Android marketplace Aptoide<\/a> just launched as a challenger to the Apple App Store in Europe. We\u2019ve seen a trickle<\/a> of<\/a> stores<\/a> launch since March when the Digital Markets Act<\/a> (DMA) forced Apple to support third-party iOS app marketplaces \u2014 but nothing has so far managed to upset the balance of power and change the status quo.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Aptoide has been around since 2009 and is primarily known as a Google Play alternative for Android users. The Portugal-based company says it currently hosts 1 million apps for some 400 million users. The iOS app store Aptoide is launching today (as an invite-only beta<\/a>) is a different beast, however, as it only distributes games. It\u2019s the first marketplace of this type available for Apple devices \u2014 and its freemium structure could prove very attractive to both developers and users alike.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Can Aptoide thrive where others have struggled? Could its focus on games lure the public in? And could its freemium model carve a path forward for third-party marketplaces? We had a chance to play with a preview of Aptoide to find out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So far, serious disruption has eluded the alternative iOS marketplaces now available in Europe. Including Aptoide, four are live at the time of writing. The first to launch was Mobivention<\/a>, a business-focused store that distributes apps to employees. The second was AltStore PAL<\/a>, an interesting marketplace that had its key selling point of an iOS emulator<\/a> undercut by Apple finally allowing the software on its own store<\/a>. The third was Setapp Mobile<\/a>, a subscription-based service still in a closed beta that focuses on delivering a workbench of productivity tools.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n These all came with promises of upending Apple\u2019s monopoly, but so far, progress has been slow. AltStore PAL, for example, launched at the start of April with two apps: Delta and Clip<\/a>. Now, two months later, it still only has two apps. This, according to its developer, Riley Testut, is because new software has \u201cbeen stuck in Apple\u2019s notarization process.\u201d Things are going slightly better for Setapp Mobile. The company launched its store with 13 apps<\/a> in the middle of May and now, about three weeks later, has 37 available. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Now, it\u2019s Aptoide\u2019s turn to try.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Installing the Aptoide game store on your iPhone is similar to other marketplaces<\/a>: fiddly but achievable with persistence. You have to navigate through about a dozen screen interactions that repeatedly warn of imminent danger. Thankfully for first-timers, Aptoide provides a handy illustrated guide of the required steps, and having gone through this process a few times now, I can assure you it gets routine quickly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Once Aptoide is on your phone, it\u2019s plain sailing. You click on a game, install it, and start playing. Unfortunately, in the state we tested Aptoide, what\u2019s available is not overly impressive. There were only eight basic games (think versions of Solitaire and Hangman) when we tested, and none of them were particularly alluring. This will change, though. Paulo Trezentos \u2014 co-founder and CEO of Aptoide \u2014 says 100 developers have so far expressed interest in appearing on its iOS marketplace and that \u201c30 of them are currently in the technical integration phase.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n With new games planned to be released weekly, the library will grow quickly \u2014 although the majority of these will be titles already available on the App Store, not exclusives. There are also no plans for controversial titles not allowed on Apple\u2019s marketplace, like pornographic or gambling games. Emulators will be allowed \u201cif not infringing on IP,\u201d but these are already a burgeoning category<\/a> in Apple\u2019s own store.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So, what\u2019s the key selling point? What\u2019s Aptoide offering users that they can\u2019t find on the App Store? Besides a currently stark list of \u201ccurated\u201d games, one element Trezentos points to is the way Aptoide combines a freemium model with a rewards structure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Aptoide is the first third-party marketplace to use an Apple-approved in-app purchases system. For users, this means all the games will be free-to-play, but some will include in-app purchases. How this differs from the App Store is that Aptoide will give \u201cbonuses\u201d to people who regularly spend in-app, something that will work out to be a 5 to 10 percent discount on each purchase.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Earth-shattering? Maybe not \u2014 but Aptoide\u2019s attitude toward developers could lead the store to gain some traction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Aptoide is paying developers between $1,000 and $2,000<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n According to Trezentos, Aptoide is \u201cdeveloper orientated,\u201d something it showcases with its approach to fees. It charges developers 20 percent for organic in-app purchases generated by the Aptoide iOS marketplace and a 10 percent fee in all other cases \u2014 for example, when the developer advertises independently and drives downloads of the app. On the Android store, Aptoide charges 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Apple, on the other hand, charges a 30 percent fee<\/a> across the board.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n