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 cost, but 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.