We give a preset – Newspaper Kommersant No. 69 (7514) dated 04/20/2023

Chinese smartphone manufacturers began to pre-install RuStore on their devices, Kommersant learned: Xiaomi, Tecno, Vivo, Realme, etc. are among them. So far, brands do not give the app store access to Android system settings, since this is prohibited by the Google license, but when you first turn it on, the user must independently allow RuStore access to these functions. Market participants believe that Chinese companies risk being sanctioned by Google: the company may disconnect their devices from its services or stop sharing part of the profits from transactions in its Play Store app store.

The Chinese device manufacturer Tecno has begun pre-installing the Russian marketplace for RuStore applications from VK, Tecno told Kommersant. According to a Tecno representative, RuStore does not have permissions to access system settings by default: “When you first install any application from RuStore, the Android system will ask you to give it permission to download and install applications from this source.” Tecno added that other international manufacturers have begun to pre-install RuStore on their devices, naming Xiaomi and Vivo among them.

The interlocutor of Kommersant among software developers added that in addition to Tecno, Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme, Infinix and Itel began to install RuStore on their devices. “A number of foreign smartphone manufacturers officially supply devices with RuStore pre-installed to Russia. Some models are already available for sale, ”Kommersant VK said, without specifying which specific brands they are talking about. This was also confirmed by the Ministry of Digital Development. Realme and Vivo declined to comment. Oppo, Honor, Infinix, itel, and Xiaomi did not respond with “b”.

Since January 1, RuStore has been included in the list of programs that must be pre-installed on phones sold in Russia. In March, the Ministry of Digital Development developed a draft government decree describing the rules for its pre-installation: according to the developed rules, RuStore must be integrated with the system to the same extent as regular application stores – up to the registration screen in RuStore when the device is first turned on (see “Kommersant” from March 8). Manufacturers and sellers of electronics turned to the Ministry of Digital Transformation with a request to reconsider the requirement for deep integration of RuStore, as this threatens to disconnect manufacturers from Google services (Google Mobile Services – YouTube, Google Maps, Play Market, etc.) around the world (see. “Kommersant” dated April 7). The Ministry of Digital Development did not answer “Kommersant”.

When pre-installing RuStore, foreign manufacturers of Andorid devices have a legal risk within the framework of licensing agreements with Google, Viktor Rykov, a lawyer for KA Pen & Paper, says: “Obviously, the immediate risks depend on specific contractual terms agreed between one or another manufacturer and Google.” According to the lawyer, due to ignoring the rules of the license, the American company may stop sharing part of the profits from transactions in the Play Store with manufacturers. Tecno, in turn, notes that the scheme they use does not violate Google’s rules, since all pre-installed applications are coordinated: “This practice does not lead to the risk of losing a license.”

According to the interlocutor of “Kommersant” among electronics manufacturers, now in Russia they demand to pre-install RuStore from the factory for all device manufacturers: “Moreover, somehow hiding or adding an “empty” icon to the desktop will not work, the Ministry of Digital Development requires exactly the installed APK file of the application ” . The source believes that companies that install RuStore on their Android devices may face disconnection from Google services on gadgets around the world in accordance with existing contracts: “Access to the system settings that are required for RuStore cannot be implemented on the manufacturer’s side, without participation of the owner of the OS and mobile services. Most likely, he believes, companies that continue official deliveries of gadgets to the Russian Federation will switch to parallel imports in order to avoid problems.

Timofey Kornev