Google to start charging manufacturers for preinstalled apps

In the case of Google vs Dominance, it seems the tech company will be forced to make manufacturers pay for the apps that come preinstalled on Android devices in the form of bundled packages.

Google has a deadline of 28th October 2019 to pay a fine slapped by the European Commission (EC) of €4.3 billion levied by the European Commission (EC) in July, citing that it has abused its Android platform to make its products dominant.

To comply with EC regulations, starting 29th October 2018, Google will start generating paid licences for the Search app and Chrome browser, and a bundled licence for other apps in its suite such as YouTube, Maps and Gmail, for the manufacturers who want to preinstall the apps on Android devices being shipped to EU region. The price of this licence has not yet been revealed but Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai has spoken on the EC’s decision before:

‘The decision ignores the fact that Android phones compete with iOS phones, something that 89 percent of respondents to the Commission’s own market survey confirmed. It also misses just how much choice Android provides to thousands of phone makers and mobile network operators who build and sell Android devices; to millions of app developers around the world who have built their businesses with Android; and billions of consumers who can now afford and use cutting-edge Android smartphones.

Today, because of Android, a typical phone comes preloaded with as many as 40 apps from multiple developers, not just the company you bought the phone from. If you prefer other apps—or browsers, or search engines—to the preloaded ones, you can easily disable or delete them, and choose other apps instead, including apps made by some of the 1.6 million Europeans who make a living as app developers.

If phone makers and mobile network operators couldn’t include our apps on their wide range of devices, it would upset the balance of the Android ecosystem. So far, the Android business model has meant that we haven’t had to charge phone makers for our technology, or depend on a tightly controlled distribution model.”

Google plans to appeal the fine.