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We mention that more 80% of phones around the world run on the Android operating system, and the highest revenue for Google comes from ads placed in the search results.
"This has not allowed European consumers to benefit from fair competition in mobile phones," added Vestager.
According to the Commission, Google violated the law by requiring smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search applications. and Chrome, and are the only ones in their category (search bar and browser). In addition, it would be conditional that they be automatically set as predefined if they wanted to access the Google Play Store application store, according to CNBC.
In other words, if companies such as Samsung, Huawei or HTC wanted users to have access to the Google Play Store app store on their phones, the giant's the computer would have made Search the only pre-installed search bar or Chrome to be the only pre-installed browser
CE adds that Google has paid some manufacturers and network operators to install their apps in handsets before the sale of terminals. It also prevented manufacturers from selling devices running other versions of its Android operating system
Google is now forced to stop these practices within 90 days, otherwise it will face additional penalties
– brought by European and American rivals – have been the subject of this investigation since 2015.
Google replica: Android created more options, not less
"When buying an Android phone, choose one of the two most popular mobile platforms in the world – one that has helped to expand the range of phones available around the world
Today, the European Commission has taken the decision to launch anti-competitive practices against Android and its business model. The decision ignores the fact that Android phones are competing with TVs iOS phones, an 89% of the market participants made by the Commission. Also overlooks the fact that Android offers countless options to thousands of phone makers and mobile operators who produce and sell Android devices; millions of app developers around the world who built their business with Android and billions of consumers who allow and use the latest Android smartphones
Today, thanks to the Android system, there are more than 24,000 devices, at various prices, from more than 1,300 different brands, including Finnish, French, German, Italian, Latvian, Dutch, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish and Hungarian telephones
Phones products by these companies are different, but they have something in common: the ability to run the same applications. And this is possible thanks to simple rules that guarantee technical compatibility, regardless of the size or shape of the device. No phone maker is forced to adopt these rules – they can use or modify Android as they wish, as Amazon did with the fire pads and TV sticks
S & # 39; 39 they want to succeed, open platforms -source must make special efforts to also meet the needs of each user. History shows that the lack of basic compatibility rules leads to the fragmentation of open-source platforms, which affects users, developers, and phone manufacturers. The Android compatibility rules do not allow to turn it into an attractive long term proposition for everyone.
Today, thanks to the Android operating system, a regular phone can have up to 40 applications from multiple developers, not just the company where you buy your phone. If you have other preferences for applications – or browsers or search engines – that preinstalled, you can easily uninstall them or delete them and you can opt for other applications, including those created by about 1.6 million Europeans.
Practically, a regular Android phone user will install himself on about fifty apps. Worldwide, over 94 billion apps were downloaded last year from our Google Play app store; browsers like Opera Mini and Firefox have been downloaded more than 100 million times, the UC browser for over 500 million times.
This is a considerable difference from the 1990s and early 2000s dial-up era. At that time, changing pre-installed applications on the computer or adding new applications was technically cumbersome and time consuming. The Commission's Android decision ignores the vast array of options and the obvious evidence of how people use their phones.
In 2007, we chose to offer Android free of charge to phone manufacturers and mobile operators. Of course, the operation of the Android operating system has cost, and over the last ten years, Google has invested billions of dollars to access the current version of Android. The investment is justified because we can offer mobile phone manufacturers the option of pre-installing popular Google applications (such as Search, Chrome, Play, Maps and Gmail), some of which generate revenue for us. and guarantee that the phone will be installed on site. directly from the box. Phone manufacturers are not required to include our services and are also free to pre-install competing applications with ours. Which means we only get revenue if our apps are installed and people choose to use them instead of competing apps.
The free distribution of the Android platform and the Google application suite is effective not only for telephone operators and operators. is extremely beneficial for developers and consumers. If phone manufacturers and mobile network operators could not include our apps on their wide range of devices, the balance of the Android ecosystem would have been affected. Until now, the economic model of Android meant that we did not even have to ask the phone makers to pay for the technology we offered them, nor to depend on a model strictly controlled distribution.
I've always considered this enlargement involves more responsibility. A healthy and prosperous Android ecosystem is in the interest of all and we have shown that we are ready to make changes. But we are concerned that today 's decision will upset the balance we have had with Android and send a worrying signal in favor of patented systems at the expense of open platforms.
The rapid innovation, the multitude of options and the lower prices are classic features a robust competitor and Android has facilitated all this. Today 's decision rejects the Android business model, which has created more options for everyone, has not limited them. We intend to challenge this decision, "writes Sundar Pichai, Google CEO
What's Next for Google
can no longer use the same business model for its advertising division, which records higher growth than that of desktop computers
"In the worst case, the company will draw less money from this source ", says Matthew Newman, an antitrust legislator for CNBC
The idea is that even if they dispute the fine, they still have to comply with the new rules in the next 90 days.
It remains to be seen how mobile phone manufacturers will react "They will still be able to leave Google apps preinstalled on their terminals, but this is done voluntarily, unconditionally."
Especially as users are already accustomed to the products of the computer giant. browser, Gmail is the most used email service. Thus, even if these applications are not preinstalled, users are likely to download them. Is it like on a computer, will you use Internet Explorer as a browser, even if it is preinstalled?
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