We’ve known for a while now that Google offered Android users in Europe a different experience than international customers, and that’s because the European Union really wants Google to behave a lot less like a monopoly than before. Google lost three major anti-trust cases in the region, including one that concerns Android.
The European Commission slapped Google with three multi-billion fines in each case, which Google has contested. But the company agreed to make changes to its business models, and the changes also concern its mobile operating system. We know now what changes are in place for Android in Europe.
Google explained in a new blog post on the matter that Android users in Europe will get search app and browser options, and showed the world what those prompts will look like.
The new screens will be shown the first time a user opens Google Play after receiving an update. We’re looking at two screens, one for search and one for browsers, as follows below.
Each screen will present the user five apps, including the ones that are installed. The apps that are not installed will show up based on their popularity, but they’ll show up in a randomized order.
A third screen will be shown to users when they install a search app. Google will ask whether they want to change Chrome’s default search engine the next time they open the browser.
These screens will show up on both existing and new Android phones in Europe in the coming weeks, Google explained, and their implementation will “evolve” over time.
