Devices Running on Android Will Now Need “Powered By Android” Logo to Boot

Individual manufacturers have always customized the Android OS according to their desire, especially because it’s open for every developer to work on. On the contrary, we have never noticed any manufacturer giving any credit to Google. The situation has changed now and Google seems to have woken up to bring in some action.

News Excerpts

Reportedly, Google has made it mandatory for all mobile makers to feature the sentence “Powered By Android” on the boot up screen of their devices. Makers will have access to the Mobile services suite by Google, only and only if they follow this mandate. Sounds a bit harsh and direct but this step taken by Google, is in all sense, justified. After all, good things don’t come for free in today’s era. The first speculation streak was triggered when Samsung Galaxy S5 was first unveiled in February this year. Critics spotted a large “Powered By Android” logo on the phone’s splash screen. It sparked rumors such as this logo was a result of talks between the device maker and Google, but as we discuss things here; it is evident that Google was making an announcement. The Google Mobile Services suite has essential services like the Google Play Store, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Drive and YouTube, and most core apps of Google. According to trusted sources, if manufacturers are to void this mandate of putting the logo in discussion, they will have to make-do without the services suite. It is as simple as that and we can only imagine how things can be drastic without these apps! Eventually people will stop buying Android phones by any random manufacturer.

Guidelines

The experts from Android Police have managed to get hold of the document outlining the guidelines of how the logo should be displayed on the device. It clearly says that this boot screen logo must be given “appropriate clear space” and it should strictly take nothing less than 40% of the width of the overall screen area. It has to be big and visible. Certain points like when the logo needs to be shown or how frequently it needs to be shown aren’t discussed in the document or elsewhere. For an instance, the recently launched HTC One M8 shows the logo only once, when we turn it on for the very first time. It is highly likely that the top level is still working on it and a finalized version of the mandate is on its way to mobile makers.

Verdict

What exactly is Google trying to pull? Google is essentially asking all hardware makers to flash the name of its OS. This isn’t surprising as this was inevitable; after all, many manufacturers have deviated from what Android should look like according to the developers from Mountain View. The company seeks credit for its creation and the sentiments are natural. The less concerned users are hardly aware of the fact that most devices are Android based. Hence, I would say that ‘it’s about time’.