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Google decided to bring its practices in line with European Union law, and decided to abandon the pre-installation of its popular applications (for example, Google Maps or Play Store) on smartphones running Android.
However, if device manufacturers want to have “native” applications from Google on gadgets, they will be required to buy a license to use them, the company said in a statement.
“Since Google search preinstallation and Google Chrome, as well as other applications helped us finance the development and distribution of the Android OS, we introduce paid licenses for smartphones and tablets that are sold in the European Economic Area (EEA),” Google said.
Senior Vice President Hiroshi Lockheimer stressed that licenses for the Google search engine, as well as the Chrome browser, will be sold separately from other applications.
In addition, the most operating system Android, owned by Google, remains free.
The licensing system will enter into force on October 29, 2018 and will extend to gadgets sold in the EEA, which includes 31 European countries.
In any case, Google didn’t have many alternatives - it was necessary to respond to the new requirements of the regulator in order to avoid further penalties. Of the options for charging for the operating system or for applications, the company chose the latter
In August 2018, the European Commission fined Google a record $ 5 billion for violating antitrust laws – the company allegedly obliged smartphone manufacturers based on Android OS to pre-install Google products on them.
At the same time, there were rumors that Google intends to monetize its applications. Google CEO Sundar Pichai hinted that failure of pre-installation of applications will deprive the IT-giant profits, so he will have to take action.
“If manufacturers and mobile operators cannot install our applications on their devices, this will upset the balance of the entire Android ecosystem. Until then, our business model implied that we did not charge for our technology,” Pichai said.
“Fast innovation, wide selection and low prices are the classic basis for healthy competition, and Android stands for every single item. The decision [of the European Commission] contradicts the business model that supports Android - an operating system that creates a large number of choices rather than restricting them,” concluded the head of Google.
It is reported that last week the company's lawyers appealed the decision of the European Commission.
source: reuters.com
However, if device manufacturers want to have “native” applications from Google on gadgets, they will be required to buy a license to use them, the company said in a statement.
“Since Google search preinstallation and Google Chrome, as well as other applications helped us finance the development and distribution of the Android OS, we introduce paid licenses for smartphones and tablets that are sold in the European Economic Area (EEA),” Google said.
Senior Vice President Hiroshi Lockheimer stressed that licenses for the Google search engine, as well as the Chrome browser, will be sold separately from other applications.
In addition, the most operating system Android, owned by Google, remains free.
The licensing system will enter into force on October 29, 2018 and will extend to gadgets sold in the EEA, which includes 31 European countries.
In any case, Google didn’t have many alternatives - it was necessary to respond to the new requirements of the regulator in order to avoid further penalties. Of the options for charging for the operating system or for applications, the company chose the latter
In August 2018, the European Commission fined Google a record $ 5 billion for violating antitrust laws – the company allegedly obliged smartphone manufacturers based on Android OS to pre-install Google products on them.
At the same time, there were rumors that Google intends to monetize its applications. Google CEO Sundar Pichai hinted that failure of pre-installation of applications will deprive the IT-giant profits, so he will have to take action.
“If manufacturers and mobile operators cannot install our applications on their devices, this will upset the balance of the entire Android ecosystem. Until then, our business model implied that we did not charge for our technology,” Pichai said.
“Fast innovation, wide selection and low prices are the classic basis for healthy competition, and Android stands for every single item. The decision [of the European Commission] contradicts the business model that supports Android - an operating system that creates a large number of choices rather than restricting them,” concluded the head of Google.
It is reported that last week the company's lawyers appealed the decision of the European Commission.
source: reuters.com
