Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Google looks to Android’s future, with a wary eye on past
NEW DELHI: Android in India is embarking on a new era. After legal battles, an order by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has meant there will be significant changes in how Android, by far the most popular operating system underpinning smartphones in India, works.
Among these will be how – and whether at all -- phone makers choose individual Google apps they would like to pre-install, allow for customised variants, give developers alternate billing options and give users the ability to choose a search engine.
Latest numbers by web analysis platform StatCounter peg Android’s market share in India at 95.61%. Apple’s iOS has 3.58% share. Core to Android’s popularity, are affordable phones.
“Implementation of these changes across the ecosystem will be a complex process and will require significant work at our end and, in many cases, significant efforts from partners, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and developers,” said Google India in a statement.
The CCI imposed two fines on the tech giant, with a ₹1,337.76 crore penalty specifically for anti-competitive practices related to Android, which the tech giant challenged in court.
Google believes there will be significant repercussions within India’s smartphone ecosystem. Could it mean more expensive phones, complications for app developers, and increased data privacy risks?
“India as a market offers an unprecedented untapped user base, which makes these remedies even more effective. These may well lead to a new Indian competitor in video hosting, mapping, web browsers or, dare we say it, search,” says Naval Chopra, partner, Competition Law Practice at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Company.
Breaking the bundle
Google used its position to structure MADA, or Mobile Application Distribution Agreement, licensing with device makers such as Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Nokia and Lava. Simply put, to use Android without having to pay a fee, phone makers must preload several Google apps. The list of apps isn’t limited to Search, Google Maps, Google Chrome, YouTube, and Play Store.
One of the concerns is rival apps are not always explored by users because Google apps get prime positioning. “OEMs will be able to license individual Google apps for pre-installation on their devices,” Google India said. Quite when this change will be visible on new smartphones isn’t clear.
Rohan Verma, CEO and executive director at Indian tech company MapmyIndia, accused Google of dragging its feet. “Question is, when Google was aware since Oct 20, 2022, why didn’t they start the work then itself? Damages to the ecosystem have been happening for 15 years due to Google’s anti-competitive activities,” he says.
Device manufacturers were mostly happy to go along with MADA as it was designed, since Google allows them freedom for customisations. Samsung’s One UI and Xiaomi’s MIUI are examples of that flexibility, with debatable advantages.
Verma believes bundling prevented users from experimenting with their Mappls app, an alternative to Google Maps. It includes features such as Junction View, which warns of approaching flyovers and 3D guidance on whether to climb or avoid. “Yet, because Google has preloaded its Google Maps app which doesn’t provide this feature, Indians at large don’t know and benefit from this,” he says.
The alternative app ecosystem is wider, and often more capable, than it has ever been. Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, and Firefox are competent Google Chrome alternatives. DuckDuckGo and Microsoft Bing can replace Google Search. Outlook and ProtonMail are replacements for Gmail.
More expensive phones on the horizon?
Google insists un-bundling apps will break the open source and free structure of Android. This cost will subsequently be passed on to customers, driving up prices of smartphones.
“The argument however is contradictory as competition breeds innovation which only makes technology more affordable for everyone,” says Rakesh Deshmukh, co-founder and CEO of Indus OS, an Indian content discovery platform.
And it may be a hard sell for Google to link any price increase solely to Android’s methods being reined in.
There is further reason for worry. Counterpoint Research estimates India’s smartphone shipments in 2023 will witness only a slight rebound. India currently has more than 600 million smartphone users. 5G is expected to provide a muchneeded push, through 2023.