Google: New replacement for pre-installed Google apps could hit phone sales

According to industry executives and analysts, smartphone brands are tempted to replace Google’s apps as pre-installed apps that don’t offer a better experience, especially at a time when overall demand is already low. I am concerned that it may have an impact.

However, recent Competition Commission of India (CCI) rulings have opened up the possibility of replacing high hardware costs with lower software costs, bringing down device prices and bridging the gap between feature phones and smartphones. Some added that they can.

Under the CCI mandate, Google has made changes to the Android operating system to allow device manufacturers to choose which Google apps to pre-install on their devices.

US majors let users choose a default search engine when setting up a new Android device, and introduced changes for partners to build incompatible or forked variants. Google has made further changes to sideloading apps (loading apps without using the app store) by adding an auto-update feature.

Mobile phone brands are also evaluating changes they need to make to their respective contracts with Google in light of recent changes.

“Google is now allowing OEMs (smartphone brands) to freely choose which Google apps they want. Tarun Pathak said.

He added that users rely heavily on Google apps, which are tightly integrated into the operating system, making it difficult for third-party apps to emulate at scale. Millions of users rely heavily on the Google ecosystem and are aware of it, and changes in the ecosystem need to be embraced by them,” Pathak said.

Senior executives of one of India’s leading smartphone brands endorsed Pathak, citing Huawei’s example of fortunes.

“Huawei smartphones that lost access to Google apps (after US sanctions against the company in 2019) saw an almost immediate drop in global market share as users rejected smartphones without support from US search giants. ‘ said the executive. “This (Huawei) is a good indicator of how much the Google app ecosystem is influencing Android users.”

A senior executive at another smartphone brand said the CCI order would help brands become more independent and choose Google apps, but consumers’ choices would need to be taken into account when actually replacing them. I said yes. To the ecosystem built by a major US company.

“From a manufacturing perspective, we have flexibility now, which is a good thing. said the executive above.

He added that monetization opportunities will only open up if you have a very good experience, better than what the Google app offers.

Emails sent to Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, Oppo and Realme elicited no response until press time.

Faisal Kawoosa, Chief Analyst at TechArc, said the CCI order and Google’s actions could drive down device prices, especially in the entry-level smartphone segment.

“For 5G, there is less demand for powerful hardware as most of the processing will likely happen in the cloud. A proprietary manufacturer) could target the entry-level segment with inexpensive devices, potentially transforming the 200 million feature phone users into smartphone users.”

Legal experts added that existing contracts Google has with OEMs will need to be readjusted in light of recent changes.

“Google now agrees to allow partners to use forked versions of the OS, requiring the existing AFA (Anti-Fragmentation Agreement) and ACCA (Android Compatibility Commitment) to be terminated. A new contract needs to be signed to record the revision, said Anupam Shukla, partner at Pioneer Legal.

But the vast majority of users are likely to continue operating within the familiar Google ecosystem rather than trying something new, Shukla said.