Google forced to unbundle Android apps in Russia

By David Curry Published October 6, 2015

Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) has ordered Google to amend agreements with mobile operators in the country, which may let manufacturers preload third-party services instead of Google’s own services.

It follows a landmark decision by the FAS into the forced preinstallation of several services on Android, in exchange for access to the Google Play store. Russian search provider Yandex originally filed the complaint after several manufacturers were blocked from preloading the search engine by Google, and said the agreement hurts its business on mobile. The manufacturers were forced to toe the line or use the AOSP (Android Open Source Project), which does not include the Google Play store.

Recommended Videos

Google has until Nov. 10 to change the way it offers Android in the country. It may also face a 1-15 percent revenue fine from the services where violations occurred.

Google Russia has not commented on the decision.

It is the first time Google has been found guilty in an antitrust case. The decision could put a lot of pressure on the other antitrust case in Europe, especially if the European Commission tags on Android violations to the growing list of markets under investigation.

Breaking up the preinstallation of Google services on Android could harm the company’s market share on mobile. Android partners would be able to make deals with third-party app developers to swap out key services. Samsung already has an agreement with Microsoft, preinstalling Office onto the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, but it also adds all of Google’s required services, leaving the end user with limited space on devices.

Google has said in the past it is not worried about the European antitrust investigation, claiming everything it does is aboveboard. That might be true for Google’s search, but Android is a grey area, especially since it is advertised as an “open-source” mobile operating system. When a manufacturer is forced to preinstall Search, Maps, Gmail, Hangouts, Chrome, Drive, YouTube, Play Music, Play Movies, Voice Search, Street View, and Calendar, it doesn’t feel like an open-source platform. It feels like a Google platform with limited options for the manufacturer.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

David has been writing about technology for several years, following the latest trends and covering the largest events. He is…

Mobile

A brilliant Google app fixed my problem with the Pixel 9a’s camera

OuttaFocus: A brilliant Google app fixed my problem with the Pixel 9a’s camera

The Google Pixel 9a’s camera isn’t the most feature-packed on the market, it doesn’t have four or more lenses on the back, and it doesn’t even have a telephoto camera either. Yet, here I am, thinking it may be all the smartphone camera I need. However, it only becomes this good after you spend some time editing your photos once you’ve taken them.
Why it may be all the camera I need

There’s something very special about the Pixel 9a’s camera app. It’s sensibly set out and fast to react, and does what I want when I want it. You can double press the phone’s power button to jump into the camera app, plus it’s possible to make small tweaks to the brightness and shadows in real time. It’s less complicated than a full Pro mode, and easily ignored if you don’t want to bother with any of it.

Android

Google’s new rule could give Android 16 gaming a boost

Google is making a major change to how Android phones handle gaming. Starting with Android 16, any new phone or tablet that hits the market must support a new feature called Host Image Copy. While the name might sound like something only developers care about, the real-world impact is clear: faster load times, less stuttering, and games that run more smoothly overall. And that's something anyone who games on their phone can appreciate.

Host Image Copy helps games load their visuals more efficiently by letting the phone’s processor take care of moving image data, rather than relying only on the graphic chip. That frees up resources and helps your games run better. It also cuts down the amount of memory games need to use behind the scenes, which is a win for performance and battery life. That could mean the end of the long pauses and lag spikes that have frustrated mobile gamers for years, or at the very least bolster them with enough speed and performance that it's more attractive to some players who haven't decided to buy in on mobile or specifically Android.

Mobile

Google Messages might finally fix this frequent annoyance

The Google Messages app on the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Though most text messages you typically send might be just a few words long, occasionally you need to draft out a longer message -- and that can be annoying on an Android device. Google Messages has an infamously small compose box, which has been a source of annoyance for many users. Now, though, that looks set to change, with a new feature spotted in the latest beta version of the Messages app of an expandable compose box.

The change was spotted in an APK teardown of the latest Android beta by Android Authority, which suggests that a change to the way the Google Messages app functions is in the works. Getting at the new compose box took some "tinkering," according to the site, but they were able to unlock a version of the compose box which can be expanded to 12 lines of text rather than the currently available four lines.