Commentary

Google Bundles Search In Europe To Keep Market Share

Beginning later this month, it will cost Android manufacturers in Europe as much as $40 more per device to sell devices preloaded with Google’s PlayStore and other mobile apps.

Documents obtained by The Verge helped the media company estimate the costbut manufacturers may not need to pay it.

Google will offer separate bundle agreements to cover some or all of the licensing costs for companies that also choose to install Chrome and Google search on their devices, per the report, citing a person familiar with the terms.

Manufacturers that don’t preinstall the apps with Search and Chrome could miss out on advertising revenue, even with 93.29% market share in Europe, according to Statcounter’s estimate for Google’s market share, which has been pretty consistent for the past year.

The document divides the European Union countries into three tiers, with the highest fees -- $40 per device to license the apps -- coming in the UK, Sweden, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands. These devices have a pixel density higher than 500ppi. The companies in countries with pixel devices that have between 400ppi and 500ppi devices would pay a $20 fee, while devices under 400ppi would pay $10. In some countries the fee for lower-end phones would cost $2.50 per device.

The idea that manufacturers with higher pixel counts on their phones would choose to bundle Chrome and Google Search with the other PlayStore and mobile apps could increase the number of consumers using Google Search in Europe. And while there is no guarantee that consumers using the high-end phones make higher-dollar purchases online, the odds are good that they do.

Tablets have a different pricing tier that is applied across countries. This pricing caps out at $20 per device.

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