Google recently announced that it would start charging Android manufacturers in Europe for its apps. Android will continue to be free but if manufactures want to use certain apps they will have to pay for them.
This is being done after Google was fined $5 billion by Eu regulators for making Android manufacturers install apps on their devices if they wanted to use certain apps.
According to a recent report by The Verge, these licensing fees could be as much as $40 per device in Europe, although prices will vary by country.
Devices with a pixel density of more than 500 ppi will pay $40 for these apps, devices with 400 to 500ppi $20 and devices under 400ppi will apparently pay $10. The highest fees will be in the UK, Sweden, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands. The fees may be even lower in some countries with lower end phones costing around $2.50.
These new fees could drive up the cost of Android Phones in Europe, whether or not this will happen remains to be seen.