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My $100,- Motorola Moto C plus is great but I can't remove the Google search box from my home screen for example. This was one of the grounds for the EU's rece

My $100,- Motorola Moto C plus is great but I can't remove the Google search box from my home screen for example. This was one of the grounds for the EU's recent antitrust action. If Google don't want to face another multibillion dollar fine in the very near future, we should see far more choice over whether to use Google services on Android. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-4581_en.htm http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-4581_en.htm

morgancmartin 8y ago
Correct me if I'm wrong, but these rulings would only hold power in the EU though, no? That's great for the EU, but that means we've still got to fix the problem everywhere else.
- close04 8y ago
  As long as it's more expensive for these companies to maintain 2 frameworks then it will be beneficial for everyone. This of course might not be the case.
- jdietrich 8y ago
  Yes, but it'll affect the whole market. The EU is a wealthy market with 510 million consumers - if Google's stranglehold on Android is broken there, then it is profoundly undermined internationally. Google might continue with anti-competitive practices outside the EU, but non-EU citizens will be free to import a device that is compliant with the EU ruling. In many cases, it will be possible to install an EU-compliant ROM on devices bought elsewhere. Some non-EU countries may decide to follow the lead of the European Commission and pass similar antitrust rulings.
  - tekknik 8y ago
    Given the EU doesn’t affect the rest of the world like they think they do (see GDPR) and also given that I can already install a ROM on just about any Android phone, nothing will change for the rest of us.
Mirioron 8y ago
But doesn't this end up sending the message that you shouldn't share your OS and software with other companies? Keep everything proprietary like Apple and make your own phones. Because Apple seems to get away with everything. They basically removed the ability to have other browsers on iOS by restricting the performance of other browsers, so all the other browsers became reskins of Safari. And nothing happened to them.
- simion314 8y ago
  It is about monopoly abuse, an OS vendor should not abuse it's market share to get more web search market share. If Apple would have a monopoly in EU and forced it's other services then I think Apple will have same issue Google and Microsoft had. My opinion is that Apple should be forced to be repair friendly and give the user full control of his hardware(let me install what I want like in OSX) , so I am not an Apple fan.
  - FussyZeus 8y ago
    I'm an Apple fan because I don't need to repair the device, nor do I require full control in order to use it. Android is fun to tinker on but when I'm stuck on the side of the road needing help, I'm sure glad I don't have a hacking project in my pocket.
    - askmike 8y ago
      I have an apple laptop and an android based phone (from One Plus). One has a broken keyboard that I'm desperately trying to hold together with tape and one hasn't. Hint: the not broken device was a third of the price of a new iPhone X, while the broken one is more than 3 times as expensive. I want you to be right so bad.. Just sticking to phones: I switched from iPhone to android years ago and honestly things are more stable over here (the legacy iOS I used back than VS any android version I tried).
    - cyphar 8y ago
      > I'm an Apple fan because I don't need to repair the device Given that Apple has no data recovery service for any of their products (even if you tell them that you'll give them a limitless pile of cash) and that they solder storage into most of their devices (that is paired to the CPU -- so you cannot remove the flash chip and put it onto a working board to recover data), this is a very bold claim. Maybe you don't need your phone to be repaired when it is water damaged and you can no longer get photos of your children (that you should've backed up, but didn't). Maybe you want to pay US$300 to replace an out-of-warranty phone when the only thing wrong with it is that a headphone jack got stuck inside the port[1]. Maybe you don't want to pay more than the device is worth to fix a brand-new device[2]. Apple devices aren't just hard to repair, Apple as a company is anti-repair -- and defending this practice is not a reasonable position to hold. I understand arguing that Apple products are easier to use, or that they are more consumer-friendly, or that consumers shouldn't have full control over their devices because they'll probably brick them, and so on. But arguing that them being irreparable is a good thing is not justifiable (even if you don't need your device repaired, someone else will, and out-right ignoring that is misinformed). [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR5ZUl0Q-NI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR5ZUl0Q-NI [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-NU7yOSElE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-NU7yOSElE

morgancmartin 8y ago

Correct me if I'm wrong, but these rulings would only hold power in the EU though, no? That's great for the EU, but that means we've still got to fix the problem everywhere else.

close04 8y ago
As long as it's more expensive for these companies to maintain 2 frameworks then it will be beneficial for everyone. This of course might not be the case.
jdietrich 8y ago
Yes, but it'll affect the whole market. The EU is a wealthy market with 510 million consumers - if Google's stranglehold on Android is broken there, then it is profoundly undermined internationally. Google might continue with anti-competitive practices outside the EU, but non-EU citizens will be free to import a device that is compliant with the EU ruling. In many cases, it will be possible to install an EU-compliant ROM on devices bought elsewhere. Some non-EU countries may decide to follow the lead of the European Commission and pass similar antitrust rulings.
- tekknik 8y ago
  Given the EU doesn’t affect the rest of the world like they think they do (see GDPR) and also given that I can already install a ROM on just about any Android phone, nothing will change for the rest of us.

Mirioron 8y ago

But doesn't this end up sending the message that you shouldn't share your OS and software with other companies? Keep everything proprietary like Apple and make your own phones. Because Apple seems to get away with everything. They basically removed the ability to have other browsers on iOS by restricting the performance of other browsers, so all the other browsers became reskins of Safari. And nothing happened to them.

simion314 8y ago
It is about monopoly abuse, an OS vendor should not abuse it's market share to get more web search market share. If Apple would have a monopoly in EU and forced it's other services then I think Apple will have same issue Google and Microsoft had. My opinion is that Apple should be forced to be repair friendly and give the user full control of his hardware(let me install what I want like in OSX) , so I am not an Apple fan.
- FussyZeus 8y ago
  I'm an Apple fan because I don't need to repair the device, nor do I require full control in order to use it. Android is fun to tinker on but when I'm stuck on the side of the road needing help, I'm sure glad I don't have a hacking project in my pocket.
  - askmike 8y ago
    I have an apple laptop and an android based phone (from One Plus). One has a broken keyboard that I'm desperately trying to hold together with tape and one hasn't. Hint: the not broken device was a third of the price of a new iPhone X, while the broken one is more than 3 times as expensive. I want you to be right so bad.. Just sticking to phones: I switched from iPhone to android years ago and honestly things are more stable over here (the legacy iOS I used back than VS any android version I tried).
  - cyphar 8y ago
    > I'm an Apple fan because I don't need to repair the device Given that Apple has no data recovery service for any of their products (even if you tell them that you'll give them a limitless pile of cash) and that they solder storage into most of their devices (that is paired to the CPU -- so you cannot remove the flash chip and put it onto a working board to recover data), this is a very bold claim. Maybe you don't need your phone to be repaired when it is water damaged and you can no longer get photos of your children (that you should've backed up, but didn't). Maybe you want to pay US$300 to replace an out-of-warranty phone when the only thing wrong with it is that a headphone jack got stuck inside the port[1]. Maybe you don't want to pay more than the device is worth to fix a brand-new device[2]. Apple devices aren't just hard to repair, Apple as a company is anti-repair -- and defending this practice is not a reasonable position to hold. I understand arguing that Apple products are easier to use, or that they are more consumer-friendly, or that consumers shouldn't have full control over their devices because they'll probably brick them, and so on. But arguing that them being irreparable is a good thing is not justifiable (even if you don't need your device repaired, someone else will, and out-right ignoring that is misinformed). [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR5ZUl0Q-NI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR5ZUl0Q-NI [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-NU7yOSElE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-NU7yOSElE