Amazon has replaced its Android app store with a revamped version called Amazon Underground wherein it is offering over $10,000 worth of premium apps, games and in-app items completely free.
Amazon notes that some of the apps marked ‘free’ might not be free after all as they may be providing in-app payments for special items or to unlock features or levels.
The online retail giant claimed that in Underground, users will be offered 100 per cent free versions of popular premium titles and popular titles without any in-app purchases.
Utilities including OfficeSuit Professional 8, PhotoSuite 4, and mSecure Password Manager as well as games like Goat Simulator, Angry Birds Slingshot Stella, Looney Tunes Dash!, Frozen Free Fall and Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions are among the ones included in the first batch of ‘100 per cent free’ apps.
To make this possible, Amazon has come to an agreement with app and game developers whereby it will pay the developers on a per-minute basis (for every minute the app is used) in exchange for them waiving their regular in-app fees.
Like the Amazon Appstore for Android, the Amazon Underground app is also not available to download from Google Play Store as Google doesn’t users to download app, which in turn allows them to download further apps. Users would need to download and install (sideload) the app from the Amazon website.
Furthermore, users would have to look for apps and games marked with an ‘Actually Free’ banner to use them without facing any in-app purchases.
Amazon has promised that the Underground app is a long-term program rather than a one-off promotion and that more benefits will be added to the app over time.
Currently, the Underground app is available only on Android Phones, and there’s no sign if it will be rolled out to iOS any time soon.
