Google is making it compulsory for smartphone makers to add an authentic "powered by Android" logo on smartphones' boot screens to gain access to Google services.
Google wants smartphone makers to say "powered by Android" logo on the boot up screens of all new smartphones. The branding on all Android smartphones is now a part of the Google Mobile Services agreement, which grants access to some of the core features of Android including Google Play Store, Chrome, Google Maps, and even the new Android Launcher.
The tiny detail came to light after Geek.com reporters first spotted the "powered by Android" message on HTC One (M8) boot up screen. Later the tech blog found the same message on Samsung Galaxy S5's boot screen, which demanded some investigation. A leaked document revealed guidelines on how to use the logo, with proper spacing and size, but does not specify the new message is mandated.
In a separate report from Android Police, sources confirmed that the logo is mandatory for all smartphones using Google's dominant Android platform. A new branding message on two new high-end smartphones by Samsung and HTC cannot be just a co-incidence.
According to the guidelines, smartphone makers are required to place the "powered by Android" logo at the bottom of the screen and be horizontally centered. The size of the logo should not be less than 40 percent of the width of the screen, regardless of the phone's screen size.
Android Police also speculates that the logo will also start appearing on older handsets after receiving future OTA updates. With this move, Google is trying to take some ownership of its Android platform, instead of giving smartphone makers complete access to use the software as they wish.
