We know that Google mandates OEMs using Android on their smartphones to provide at least two years of updates. However, there’s a new revelation that Google actually shares more revenue with OEMs who keep their smartphones up to date with the latest security patches.
During his testimony in the antitrust case that has been filed against Google, CEO Sundar Pichai explained that Google offers financial incentives to encourage OEMs to keep their phones up-to-date with the latest security patches, rewarding companies that prioritise updates with a larger share of revenue from Google services.
This actually means that apart from the two-year update rule, Google wants OEMs to offer better software support for their devices, as a result of which, it is ready to share a higher revenue percentage with such brands. However, this doesn’t mean that all the brands follow the path Google tries to make them tread on.
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Pichai further noted that some brands are ready to trade off the income they can make by providing longer software support because “more effort goes into developing the next version, and updates are costly”.
On the brand’s part, it could also be because it’s user base might not be large enough to support longer software updates. Instead, the brand could be losing out on money for developing those updates and even the revenue share from Google couldn’t cover those costs.
With such information out in the open, one can tell which brands are willing to take the leap and support their devices for longer, such as Samsung. The Korean manufacturer not only keeps its flagships up to date but also its mid-rangers, which means it could be getting one of the highest revenue shares from Google.