Google to start charging Chinese OEMs from third quarter for using Android apps

Google was fined $5 billion in July by the European Commission for abusing its market dominance with Android

Chinese OEMs might soon have to pay Google for using Android apps on their phones and tablets. In a tweet from the official Android account spotted by SlashLeaks, the company clearly states that it has “plans to charge Chinese manufacturers in the third quarter of 2019.” Now as there are a host of Chinese companies producing Android powered gadgets, Google went a step further and named some of the firms that might be affected. “(the list) may include Huawei, ZTE, Xiaomi, and many other smartphone manufacturers,” Google stated in its tweet. The question that arises is by how much and its effect on the end consumer.

This development comes after the massive European Commission’s fine on Google in 2018, which saw the internet giant cough up a record $5 billion. In July last year, the European Commission found Google guilty of abusing its market dominance with Android as it used to legally bound mobile manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Google Chrome on their smartphones. As it was instructed to stop the practice, Google therefore introduced a new paid licensing agreement for all the smartphones and tablets being shipped into the European Economic Area, which saw them charge OEMs up to $40 per device for using its apps, although the actual amount was reported to be somewhere around $2.5.

Now it seems that Google is introducing the same agreement in China, which will see the above mentioned companies paying for Google Play and apps separately. The base Android operating system will however remain free and open-source.

from 91mobiles.com http://bit.ly/2CJd4Vc
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