Google in attempts to regain full control over Android

Google imposes new restrictions on manufacturers

Whilst Android’s openness and flexibility are something very good for regular users, these qualities are not so good for Google itself. The company behind the most popular operating system now wants to tighten its grip on Android’s look, functionality, and app list.

New documents obtained by ‘The information’ show that the relationships between Google and OEMs may be entering a new phase where Google will have even more control over the platform.

First of all, Google wants all manufacturers to produce phones with all Google services pre-installed. Moreover, the new MADA agreement regulates the particular way of how these apps will be positioned. Now, there are far more app requirements, as Google has reportedly extended the list of mandatory services for new devices. ‘Google Now’ is the default and the only possible voice search engine, while Google’s Chrome is the default mobile browser.

While these new restrictions will not affect the power users to a high degree, they will definitely change the best practices between manufacturers and Google. Many phone makes now use slightly tweaked but not stock Android versions and further restrictions would affect their relationships with the software maker and we can even see some signs of tension.

So, it won’t be surprising if more companies try alternative OS like Windows. The biggest player Samsung already had a meeting with Microsoft regarding their relationships and one of the topics was Windows Phone for possible new Samsung devices. If you remember the case with TouchWiz and how Google reacted against Samsung own UI, alternative solutions like Tizen and Windows do make a lot of sense in the near future.

Via Pocket Now