Google was greeted by the European Union with a hefty fine back in July due to allegations of using its dominant position in search to exploit other competitors in the search industry. Following the ruling and to avoid future fines like this in the EU, Google is setting in motion a restructuring that could potentially mean more expensive phones for consumers in the EU.
Starting October 29th, the ‘base package’ of the Play Store and Google’s other apps will now require a licensing fee. This fee will most likely be passed down to consumers. The reasoning behind this fee is that the pre-installation of Search and Chrome together with other apps helped fund the development and free distribution of Android but will need another revenue stream now.
If you didn’t really catch any of that, here’s the breakdown of Android in the EU now:
- “Android,” also known as AOSP (Android Open Source Project), is and will be free.
- Chrome, in a bundle with the Google Search app, is free.
- The Play Store and Google’s other apps (Gmail, Maps, Duo, YouTube, etc.) will cost a license fee. It is not yet clear how much that fee is or how it will be structured.
This new structure only applies to Android OEMs who sell devices in the EU.
Theoretically, it is possible for an OEM to build a phone that runs Android and has Chrome and Search on it but not the Play Store and other Google apps. OEMs could also make an Android phone and pay the fee to license the Play Store but leave Chrome and Search out. Or you can build your own, forked version of Android, like Amazon, and put Chrome and Search on it for free.
Google also says that they are planning to “offer new commercial agreements to partners for the non-exclusive pre-installation and placement of Google Search and Chrome.” However, they maintain that competing apps may be pre-installed alongside their apps.
In addition, Google will allow manufacturers to build smartphones and tablets running a forked version of Android, while also selling regular devices with the Play Store.
