https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/18/17585396/google-android-eu-fine-response

The EU’s decision to force Google to unbundle its Chrome and Search apps from Android may have some implications for the future of Android’s free business model. In a blog post defending Google’s decision to bundle search and Chrome apps on Android, Google CEO Sundar Pichai outlines the company’s response to the EU’s $5 billion fine. Pichai highlights the fact a typical Android user will “install around 50 apps themselves” and can easily remove pre-installed apps, but that Google being prevented from bundling its own apps will upset the Android ecosystem.

“If phone makers and mobile network operators couldn’t include our apps on their wide range of devices, it would upset the balance of the Android ecosystem,” explains Pichai, carefully avoiding the fact phone makers will no longer be forced to bundle these apps but can still choose to do so. Pitchai then hints that the free Android business model has relied on this app bundling. “So far, the Android business model has meant that we haven’t had to charge phone makers for our technology, or depend on a tightly controlled distribution model,” says Pichai. “But we are concerned that today’s decision will upset the careful balance that we have struck with Android, and that it sends a troubling signal in favor of proprietary systems over open platforms.”