Android has been getting increasingly less “open” over time as has sought to exert more control put its own services front center. A report from The Information adds more concrete details to this, revealing specifics of some confidential Android contracts.
is apparently ramping up the number of apps, such as Gmail, Drive, Chrome, that must be preinstalled on devices. The apps also must have more prominent home screen placement accompany a Search widget.
The story behind the story: Android has long been touted as a more “open” operating system, with third-party hardware makers able to customize it to their liking. Yet that hasn’t worked out so well for , which doesn’t make money by selling Android devices. Its revenue comes from consumers using Search its other products that tie into the company’s advertising empire. has sought to reign in the vast fragmentation of Android interfaces third-party apps that are getting in the way of its own services, fragmenting the user experience.
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is clearly looking to push manufacturers to build phones that are closer to stock Android put its apps front center. For example, the report says the ay Store a folder with core apps must greet you first thing on the home screen. A swipe up from the home button must also trigger Search, just as it does on Nexus devices.
ile manufacturers described the new rules to The Information as “tightening the screws,” in many ways it works out better for consumers. Some Android manufacturers like Samsung put heavy-hed custom interfaces on their devices, placing their own browser, email, note-taking apps music players on them. Sometimes these apps are less robust don’t work as well as what built. Even when they do, they often operate differently, making it difficult for Android users to share advice or help each other. Such confusion can drive people away from Android into the arms of the user-friendly ione, where the experience is uniform across all devices.
also is dangling the carrot of more revenue in front of manufacturers, offering a cut of the funds from Search or ay by not preinstalling competing products, like Yahoo or Bing search applications.
It should be noted that these rules typically affect only those phones that want to use ’s services, including the all-important ay store. The AOS(Android Open Source oject) allows device makers to alter Android much more thoroughly, without many of ’s core services; Amazon’s Kindle operating system is a good example of this.
