Google will offer a special version of Android for India without the company’s special services. Citing an insider Cuban Wojciechowski on this informs 9to5google portal.
Wojciechowski claims to have received the draft version of the Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (IMADA) in India. The document says that Google will offer smartphone manufacturers two development options.
According to the first, sellers will have the opportunity not to install all Google applications on their smartphones – instead, the company will provide only the proprietary Google Play application store to such devices. Manufacturers can also pre-install any additional Google apps if needed.
The second option will offer Android device manufacturers the usual pre-installation of branded applications, as is always the case for Google-certified gadgets. Previously this was the only option available to Indian sellers.
It is not yet known when the agreement will enter into force. It is not excluded that in the future this practice may spread to other countries that oppose Google’s dominance.
A possible impetus to loosen the monopoly of embedded services may have come when the Competition Commission of India (CCI) fined Google $176.8 million in late 2022 for abusing its dominant position in the Android mobile ecosystem.
Formerly socialbites.ca saidMicrosoft’s chatbot blamed Android and iOS users for Windows Phone’s failure.