Google has launched a subscription service offering users access to more than 350 "completely unlocked" Android apps and games for a monthly fee.
All software provided via the Play Pass will be supplied without any ads or in-app charges. Google's package will only contain existing products already available on its Play Store to begin with. The announcement comes days after Apple launched its own games-centric subscription service. Like Apple, Google plans to charge $4.99 (£4.00) a month for its service. However, it is also promising early adopters a $1.99/month fee for the first year of membership.
To start with, Play Pass will be limited to US-based subscribers, but the firm has suggested that it will be extended to other countries soon. "Apple has worked really hard to curate some cutting-edge content of a very high quality," commented Ben Wood from the consultancy CCS Insight. "But Google has been able to throw a wider net and get more titles. "And that somewhat neutralises the threat that Apple Arcade could pose if someone was thinking about switching from iPhone to Android on that basis."
