After a US $ 5 billion fine related to antitrust laws in the EU, Google will start charging for Android apps

Google is adapting to life in the EU after the $ 5.05 billion antitrust fine (4.34 billion euros) imposed by the European Commission earlier this year. Google is still appealing the original decision, that Google was using Android to illegally dominate the search market, but for now, Google will abide by this decision and offer more flexible licensing deals to Android device manufacturers .

In an article published on Google's official blog titled "Comply with the EC's Android Decision", Google has introduced some changes regarding Google's app license agreements offered to Android OEMs. As you may recall, this announcement is a modification of the "Mobile Application Distribution Agreement" (MADA) confidential document, which is required to access the Play Store and other Google applications. What we consider a commercial device "Android" consists of two parts. The basic Android operating system is free and open source – anyone can pick it up and do whatever it wants without Google's involvement. If you want to use the Play Store, Google Maps, Gmail and all the other Google apps you need to create a viable commercial smartphone, you need to talk to Google and sign an MADA, with many restrictions.

The new rules

The new Google MADA brings three major changes. First, the Google blog states that "Android partners who want to distribute Google apps can also build smartphones and tablets that are not compatible or baked for the European Economic Area (EEA)". The last time we saw an MADA document (in 2014), it contained an "anti-fragmentation" clause, which stipulated that any company signing the agreement had to be fully integrated with Google's Android. If you made an Android device without the Google apps, you were started from the Google ecosystem. This means that a company like Amazon, which makes Kindle devices with a fork, could never ship a smartphone with Google apps.

This rule really helped Google keep a grip on the Android OEMs because it prevented them from even experimenting outside the Google ecosystem. I'm sure some builders will want to test Android technologies and launch a device or two without Google applications, but the anti-fragmentation clause would mean that they would be immediately booted from the ecosystem. This made a smooth transition out of the impossible Google ecosystem: it was more like jumping off a cliff, and you had to hope that you landed safely at the bottom. A mix of Android and Google Android will now be allowed, but it seems that this will only be allowed in the EEA. Forked Android is also licensed in China because Google does not offer Google apps for this country.

Google says it's also going to dissociate Search and Chrome from the rest of Google apps. Previously, if you wanted a single Google app, like the Play Store, which provides access to the entire ecosystem of Android apps, you had to bundle all of Google's apps. It seems that Google's main application group remains in place, but OEMs will now have the option to skip Chrome and Search, or license Chrome and Search separately. You have always been able to install competing applications alongside Google apps.

The last change is certainly a shock. The termination of Google's licensing agreement will have a financial impact on the OEMs. As Google says, "Since the pre-installation of Google Search and Chrome as well as our other applications have allowed us to finance the development and free distribution of Android, we will introduce a new license agreement paying for smartphones and tablets delivered in the EEA ". That's right, OEMs now have to pay to access Google apps, but Google does not say how much. The basic Android operating system, says Google, "will remain free and open source".

Now what?

The simplest result of this decision is that we could see something like a European Samsung phone bundled with Bing and the Samsung browser instead of Google and Chrome. As long as a device like this has the Play Store, you can still install Google Search and Chrome if you wish. What would be really interesting is a fork device hitting the European market. The free-for-all online store in China means that several companies have already built a Google ecosystem into ranges. It is therefore possible to see Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Huawei and others launch devices without Google in the EU.

The problem with Android is not duplicating the Play Store and getting an email client. It replicates Google Play services, a massive set of Google APIs that many developers choose to use in their apps. If, for example, a developer wants to embed Google Maps or use Google's cloud-based push messaging, it means creating a dependency on Play Services in their app. Outside the Google ecosystem, all this stops working. So, tinkering Android is still very difficult, but at least the builders can try now, and if they fail, they can always go back to Google.

Google is still appealing the original decision, so everything is not yet engraved in the marble.

The new rules will come into effect on October 29, 2018.