A PYMNTS Company

Turkey: Android Phones will no longer come with Google Apps pre-installed

By  |  December 16, 2019

Due to a legal tussle between Google and the Turkish government, all subsequent Android phones released in the country will be devoid of Google apps and services. The Mountain View-based company has already sent out circulars to its Turkish partners informing them about this new development.

A Google spokesperson told Reuters in a statement, “We’ve informed our business partners that we will not be able to work with them on new Android phones to be released for the Turkish market. Consumers will be able to purchase existing device models and will be able to use their devices and applications normally. Google’s other services will be unaffected.”

The Turkish Competitive Board and Google have been in a legal standoff since 2018 when the former fined Google 93 million lire (US$17.4 million) for violating mobile software sales laws. On top of the fine, Google had six months to fix its software distribution agreements in the country.