Google will separately sell licenses for the Google Apps package and search with a browser
Google has divided the Google Apps general package into two separate packages for smartphone makers, highlighting Google Search with the Chrome browser. Now two packages are sold separately.
Recall that on July 18, 2018, the European Commission completed a perennial investigation against Google and demanded a record fine of $ 5 billion (4.3 billion euros) from it.
The European Union has accused Google of three violations.
- Google is undermining the competition in the market for Android devices by introducing its search engine and applications into the operating system.
- It restricts manufacturers from using alternative versions of Android, blocking access to their services.
- The company paid large manufacturers and mobile networks to put Google Search on default in their products.
Alphabet companies were given 90 days "to challenge the decision or correct the situation." Now, 90 days have passed - and the American corporation announced its version of correcting the situation .
On October 16, 2018, exactly 90 days after the EU antitrust resolution, Google announced that it would start charging manufacturers of smartphones for installing Gmail, Google Maps and other popular Android applications in the European Union.
Three months ago, European regulators said that Google is forcing phone manufacturers to download their free applications along with the Android operating system and thereby infringe upon competitors. The European Commission decided that manufacturers need to provide greater freedom of choice in what applications they want to pre-install on phones.
Google has announced that from now on it will sell a separate license for a package of applications, including Google Play, Gmail, YouTube and maps. Another license will be available for companies that want to pre-install Google Search and the Chrome browser. Thus, phone manufacturers get more freedom in the use of competing services, which the European Commission wanted.
For example, you can now use the Google Apps package with a third-party browser. Or vice versa - Google search and Chrome browser, but without a package of branded applications.
The company did not say how much it would charge for the license.
The European Commission enabled Google itself to come up with a way to implement the decision, and now the company offered this option.
Analysts have yet to think about how to predict the effect of decisions taken. But we can already assume that in Europe there will be a greater variety of smartphones for users with different versions of pre-installed applications. There will no longer be such uniformity where absolutely on every Android device was a Google search, Google Play store and so on. Users will probably benefit from such a decision. At the very least, people will find out that there are other application directories besides Google Play. Maybe some smartphones will be sold with Firefox or Opera pre-installed.
Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the world, which is installed on more than 80% of smartphones. Google says it works on more than 24,000 different types of devices. The use of Android allowed companies like Samsung to compete with Apple's iPhone without the need to create their own software.
By providing Android for free to any device manufacturer to use and modify, Google is simultaneously promoting its Google Apps suite of applications. It was rumored that each manufacturer had previously entered into an agreement with Google, under which Google paid license fees for using Google Apps. Officially, it was free. Anyway, the problem was that Google obliged manufacturers to install the complete Google Apps suite with no exceptions, that is, necessarily with the Google Play catalog, other programs, as well as the search engine and browser. Now the whole set is divided into two packages.
Prices for packages are not disclosed, but it can be assumed that Google has thoughtfully thought through financial conditions and will not be left behind. You can sell licenses on Google Play, and you can install Google Search for free or pay producers extra, because the search generates the main corporate profits. As a result, Google’s revenue after the decision of the European Commission may even increase.
Google will appeal the decision of the European Commission. The trial will drag on for years, and if Google wins, it can go back to the previous single package.