Google’s bet for Android Auto and Android Automotive is successful, and is gradually conquering the car market; Not surprisingly, studies show that drivers do not want touch screens in the car if they can’t use Android Auto, and all thanks to the variety of apps available, such as Google Maps.
Although this success has left Google in an enviable position in the market, he raised the suspicions of the Bundeskartellamt, the maximum antitrust organism in Germany; Hence this week’s announcement that Google will change the way you offer your automobile servicesand will directly affect all cars sold in Spain, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Specifically, Google has committed to licenty services such as Google Maps, Google Play and Google Assistant separately. In this way, Google will no longer force car manufacturers to obtain a joint license for all those services if they wanted to install Android Automotive With Google in their cars. Google has also offered to eliminate contractual terms that force brands to encourage the use of their products, in addition to eliminating provisions that prevent using other map services in addition to those of Google Maps. The company has pledged to make these changes for all car manufacturers in Europe.
Android Automotive OS (AAOS) is offered as a free operating system for cars infotainment screens; But most brands have also chosen the license that allows them to include Google appslike Maps, which are very popular among drivers, which is known as Android Automotive With Google. It is the same that happens in the Android version for smartphones: although it is free, most Android mobiles sold in Spain come with pre -installed Google apps.
These practices have already been subject to antitrust research, both in the European Union and in the United States. In this specific case, Germany opened Two cases of possible monopoly When it introduced new rules in 2021, which will now be closed with this agreement with the Bundeskartellamt, which stressed that it has the potential to make deep changes in the market.
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In practice, the agreement implies that manufacturers can now explore other services in addition to, or instead of Google. For example, cars brands can now Offer other default map apps in your vehiclesand continue offering Google Maps pre -installed or eliminate it completely. In the same way, they can also install their own Apps store and their own virtual assistant or reach agreements with other developers to preinstall their applications. All this, without prejudice to continuing to use Android Automotive and the Google apps that they want to preinstall, instead of accepting the complete package.
According to the Bundeskartellamt, this commitment opens the door for manufacturers to cooperate with rival Google developers to create new solutions for infotainment systems. In the long term, the organization has the hope that it will open the door to New alternatives to Google services in the carand even new alternative systems to Android Automotive and Android Auto. For its part, Google states that its platforms and services have always offered the possibility of choice and that its terms of use are the standard of the industry.
