How your mobile might change if you use Google apps

The European Union has established itself as one of the most regulated regions in the worldwhich earned him quite a bit of criticism, but he also achieved some milestones. The latest in the mobile industry is to finally force Apple to adopt the USB-C port for its smartphones. There are obviously advantages and disadvantages for Europe and for the rest of the members.

But the fact that Europe is a champion in this area does not mean that other countries do not have similar strategies. a few hours ago The US Department of Justice has asked Google to get rid of its Chrome browser. This request has been studied for months and is part of a broader case of monopolistic practices that, according to the American government, Google is carrying out. In fact, Google admitted that it was paying manufacturers, including Apple, for Android to fight iOS.

Along with that, it could force the company to break its contract with Apple, for which it pays it about $20 billion a year as the default search engine for iPhones and iPads. But the biggest threat made by the American administration was to demand that Google divests itself from Android.

That Chrome is not integrated into Android or if Google doesn't control it, it might lead to some changes, but they would mostly happen within Google. Many users use other browsers with the same Chrome core, like Edge or Brave, and even those who use Firefox.

But the potential sale of AndroidAs Kent Walker mentions, could be something that would shake the foundations of the entire industry. The last two decades have been based on the polarization between iOS and Android and this could end if Android is sold to another company and this changes the relationship with the rest of the world's mobile phone manufacturers, which except for 'Apple, use this operating system.

The dreaded fragmentation

If Google is forced to sell Android We should think about who could buy it. It is surprising that the American government gave the green light to a foreign company to buy it, especially with the inauguration of Donald Trump, with a much more protectionist program than his predecessor.

The company that bought Android would have three options. On the one hand, could maintain the current status quo by making Android free for their customers but in exchange for a profit. For example, that their services would be integrated. A target company could be Microsoft. But sooner or later this would lead to a situation similar to the current situation.

The other option is that the company acquiring the operating system does not want to offer other products to its customers, but then should charge for using Androidwhich would drive many brands out of the market and, even worse, would make many others consider leaving Android. It's not something that hasn't been seen before. Companies like Amazon or many Chinese companies used the AOSP version of the system to create alternatives compatible with Android but this was not up to Google.

The most extreme case is that of Huawei, which has developed its own operating system already independent of Android, HarmonyOS Next. This required creating an ecosystem and, more difficult, convincing developers to create applications for their new system. Huawei's case was somewhat plausible given its social and financial power than in China, but other brands would have things more complicated.

Finally, it could be that a mobile manufacturer will buy Android. Samsung would surely be best placed, but this would give it such an advantage over its competitors that it could scare away the rest of the brands. We must not lose sight of the fact that this will not be something new. LG purchased WebOS and currently uses it on its TVs, but other manufacturers have no interest in using this system.

The worst-case scenario would be that each brand ends up opting for its own operating system.something similar to what happened before the current era of smartphones. There were models with Symbian, others with Maemo, others with Window CE… Obviously all were incompatible with each other, which never allowed the creation of a large ecosystem.

Did Apple take advantage of this?

The blow Apple would suffer if it were forced to abandon the 20,000 million dollars that Google pays you to position its search engine It would be huge. However, if it means the demise of Android as we know it, it might even benefit you. Maybe not as much as Google's main competitors, but it would still be positive.

The iPhone user base is reaching its peak, as those who want to use a mobile phone from this company are already doing so, regardless of economic reasons. If Android collapses as an ecosystem, iOS will remain not the best option, but almost the only one.in terms of offering a system with millions of compatible applications and a perfect connection with the rest of the devices that we use daily, such as computers.

Esto podría suponer un salto en la cuota de mercado de Apple enorme, que podría poner el colofón lanzando un iPhone de precio mucho más ajustado sólo para atraer a esos nuevos potenciales clientes. Y sí, quizás eso nos orientara hacia un nuevo caso de monopolio en el futuro, pero tampoco sería extraño. Microsoft ya pasó su penitencia, ahora parece que le toca a Google y nada impide pensar que en el futuro sería Apple.

Más allá de los móviles

Pese a que los smartphones sea, con mucha diferencia, el mayor dominio de Android, este sistema operativo también está presente en muchos otros aparatos, como relojes, tablets… o coches. Una escisión de Google pondría en peligro el desarrollo de estos sistemas, pero también abriría el camino a otras alternativas, que actualmente no tienen cabida porque es imposible luchar contra un servicio gratuito de calidad, como es Android. Lo mismo pasa con Chrome, que podría ser mejor de no haber estado bajo el escrutinio de Google y su necesidad de cuidar los ingresos por anuncios, según ha afirmado un antiguo empleado.

Por último, habría que considerar cómo afectaría al desarrollo de aplicaciones si se da la temida fragmentación. Eso podría redundar en un menor número de apps, en menos empresas que se puedan dedicar a ello y, por supuesto, muchos menos desarrolladores independientes viviendo de eso.