Google: Suit and Desktop App

Aptoide sued Google in San Francisco on April 14, accusing it of illegally locking down Android app stores and in-app billing. (reuters.com) The Portuguese company said Google’s control of app distribution and payments kept smaller rivals from gaining scale, and it asked the court for an injunction plus triple damages under United States antitrust law. Google did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. (reuters.com) On the same day, Google widened its push beyond the browser with a Windows app that searches the web, Google Drive, installed apps, and files saved on a computer from a single desktop box. Google says the app is available globally in English and can be opened with Alt + Space. (support.google.com, 9to5google.com) Google’s search business is also under pressure over answer quality. A report covered by Newsweek said a study by Oumi, commissioned by The New York Times, found Google’s AI Overviews were accurate in 91 percent of 4,326 searches, leaving errors that scale into millions of wrong answers as Google handles more than five trillion searches a year. (newsweek.com) Advertising forecasts point to the same squeeze. Search Engine Land, citing Emarketer, reported on April 14 that Meta is projected to take $243.46 billion in global ad revenue in 2026, ahead of Google at $239.54 billion, which would be the first time Meta finishes the year on top. (searchengineland.com) The lawsuit lands after Google already agreed in November 2025 to make changes to Android and Google Play to settle the antitrust case brought by Epic Games. Aptoide said it had also complained to European Union antitrust regulators about Google in 2014. (reuters.com) Google’s Windows app shows the company trying to put search closer to the desktop while rivals and regulators challenge how that search business works. Aptoide’s case now puts another piece of that fight in front of a United States judge. (support.google.com, reuters.com))