Google doesn’t need Android to be incredibly profitable for it to be a strategic asset to their business. In fact, you’re making my point that Google’s monopoly undermines the free market and stifles innovation. If Google had to change a modest fee for Android, I’m sure it would still be hugely popular, rake in billions of dollars more, and provide niches for other competitors to flourish.
(Sidebar: I hadn’t seen the “$17 billion profit” figure before. By any reasonable standard, that is a staggering amount of profit.)
Considering that’s about what Apple makes in one or two quarters of iPhone sales, that type of profit over 7 or 8 years while commanding 3-4x the market share isn’t that great.
(Sidebar: I hadn’t seen the “$17 billion profit” figure before. By any reasonable standard, that is a staggering amount of profit.)