After February 24, paying for in-app purchases became problematic. The App Store and Google Play have disabled the ability to buy paid apps (including the method using a mobile operator), Apple Pay and Google Pay no longer work.
To access the functionality of most of the applications we are used to, we will have to use workarounds. We studied how processes work on iOS and Android, and also decided which operating system to choose in 2022.
Contactless payments
Google Pay and Apple Pay have been disabled in Russia, contactless payments are now problematic. On Android, there is a solution to the problem – the Mir Pay application is available in the operating system, with its help you can pay for purchases in the same way as with Google Pay.
The only requirement for this is the presence of a Mir card, which almost every Russian bank already has. Connect it in the application and use it exactly the same as with Google Pay. We talked about this service in detail.
Mir Pay has a nice difference from Samsung Pay – you don’t need to open the application every time you want to pay in the store. To make a purchase, you just need to turn on the screen with the power button, unlock it and attach your smartphone to the terminal at the checkout.
Biometric confirmation is not required, but only for purchases up to 3,000 rubles. Google Pay has a maximum amount of 1000 rubles.
Winner: Android
Access to applications
Apple operating systems are closed. You can install the application only in the App Store, each transaction is also controlled by the company’s application store.
The positive side is safety. You will definitely not install a virus-infected application, and scammers will not write off your money.
On the other hand, the company has full control over what users can install and what they can’t. She turned off payments from Russian cards and removed a number of applications. That’s it, you won’t use them anymore, because Apple decided so.
In Russia, after February 24, this was felt. Payment by Russian cards is no longer available even through a mobile operator, a number of applications have been removed. Even if you have bank accounts, entering its application is problematic – only if you previously installed it, otherwise you can only use the web version.
Android does not have this limitation. On the one hand, for this reason, smartphone users on this operating system are more vulnerable to hacking. On the other hand, they also have more freedom. Google has set all the same restrictions as Apple, only they apply exclusively within its applications. At the same time, you can install applications not only from Google Play, but also from other stores and directly from the developer’s website.
Sber, Alfa – applications of these banks can be installed from the official websites of companies. Download and get full-fledged applications that function the same as before they were removed from the app stores. In addition, the beta version of RuStore is already available on Android, it has all the “disgraced” applications.
The only problem is that if you download applications not from the store, then you need to install updates manually. The exception is Telegram, which has a built-in automatic download of the update, even if you do not download the application from Google Play. As long as it’s the only one of its kind.
On iOS, all these apps can be “mothballed” if they’re already installed and transferred to a new device. At the same time, if you start using the conditional Alfa Bank and did not have time to install its applications before, you will have to use only the web version of the service. How to do this, we have described here.
Winner: Android
Working with already installed applications
This advantage of Android showed itself back in 2020. That summer, Fortnite found itself in disgrace on Google Play and the App Store for paying for in-game items bypassing their payment systems. The company did this in order not to pay a commission to stores and, as a result, not to increase prices, thereby violating the rules of the sites.
As a result, the application was removed from the stores. iOS users were left without a game from Epic Games if they did not have time to install it, while for Android smartphone owners, almost nothing has changed.
The only thing that has changed is the process of installing the application. You need to download it from the developer’s website, and then everything is as before – even microtransactions remain, and their prices remain the same. This works with all apps removed from the Apple and Google stores due to sanctions. How exactly to do this, we told here.
The same advantage allows you not to be left without the usual services, as happened in iOS. On Android, you can pay for an in-app purchase not through Google Play if another payment system is connected to it.
On iOS, you can pay for the purchase only on the official website of the service, if it offers such an opportunity. that is, you can subscribe to Yandex Plus and Okko, but not to Apple Music, because the latter service makes it possible to connect a paid plan only through the App Store. How exactly to do this, we told here.
Winner: Android
Outcome
Apple long ago published document detailing what awaits iOS users if it allows app downloads from outside the App Store under government pressure.
“Only use the official app store. Users should not download apps from third party sources to minimize the risk of installing malicious code. They should not install applications unless they are verified by a legitimate and trusted source,” the European Network and Information Security Agency recommends in it.
That is, iOS is more reliable, but now this advantage in Russia plays to the detriment of the operating system. Android has more freedom and, as a result, access to applications and payment for services that are no longer officially available. Therefore, if you are choosing a new phone in the current realities, it is more rational to take a closer look at Android.
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