Android as an operating system has evolved a lot, and the same can be said about Android devices. We are no longer looking at phones that are only preloaded with default Google apps. Modern-day Android devices have the freedom to have a lot of apps preinstalled on them, and it all comes down to the OEM. Carrier phones have even more, but the one thing that is essential in all Android devices is the Play Store. Based on new findings, however, it appears that the search engine giant never really had plans to make a lot of money from it.
Google Play was one of the most profitable businesses in 2020
Google Play Store was once known as the Android Market, and Mr. Eric Chu, the Head of the Android Developer Ecosystem, talked about how Google will not be operating the Android Market as a profit center,” and how the company will “collect a small charge to cover costs of handling and billing.” At the same time, it is true that at that point, the revenue share was 5% for the search engine giant itself, 25% for the carriers, and 30% for the developers. That has changed.
The new information is coming to light during Epic Games vs. Alphabet proceedings that are still going on. Of course, Google no longer has any issues with making money from the Play Store. As a matter of fact, back in 2020, the digital storefront managed to have a 65% operating margin, which accounted for $4.4 billion operating profit in H1 2020, and the figure went up from 2019, showing that the profits are increasing for the search engine mogul.
I have been using Android for as long as I can remember. My first smartphone was an HTC Desire running Android 2.3 or Gingerbread. Over several years, I've used phones from almost all the major OEMs, and one evident thing is that the operating system has turned into something that even I did not think of at that time. It is nice to see that Google has made some serious progress in turning the OS into a major player in the market, especially when the competition from Apple was always tough.
News Source: The Verge
About the author: I have been tinkering with Android devices ever since the early days of the HTC Desire. Over time, I have grown a fondness for the ecosystem and now I cannot live without it. Although some might believe that I have sold my soul to Android, but I believe it is not the case. You can find me writing tutorials and posting guides on a number of different smartphones. When I am not writing here, I am wasting myself away in books, journals, or on Steam.
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