New Android phones in Turkey will lack Google apps

In a nutshell: Consumers in Turkey face the prospect of missing out on Google apps in new Android devices released within the country. The move comes after regulators ruled that contract changes Google made with its Turkish business partners were not acceptable.

Turkey’s competition authority opened a probe into Google following a complaint from Russian internet giant Yandex. In September last year, the US search giant was fined 93 million lira ($17.4 million) for violating competition law with its mobile software sales, reports Reuters. It was also given six months to make changes that allowed customers to choose a different search engine in their Android device.

On November 7, the competition board ruled that the contract changes Google made with its business partners didn’t go far enough as they still don’t allow the default Android search engine to be changed.

“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,” Google said in a statement.

The company added that existing Android phones will still be available to purchase, and consumers can continue to use their devices and applications normally. Google’s other products and services will be unaffected.

The competition board said it had imposed a fine of 0.05 percent of Google’s revenue per day over the violation. The company has 60 days to challenge the ruling.

Google is fighting to resolve the issue, so it’ll be hoping to settle the matter before any of next year’s big Android devices are released in Turkey.