This is how much MONEY Google really makes from Android

THE amount of money Google makes from its hugely-popular Android operating system was this week revealed in US court.

 

Android generates money through advertisements and digital purchases via Google's Play Store

 

Google's hugely-successful Android operating system has generated revenue of $31 billion, some £21.7 billion converted, a lawyer for Oracle has revealed in court.

Of that figure, some $22 billion – £15.4 billion – was profit, the Oracle Corp. lawyer told a US court hearing during the software company's copyright lawsuit against Google.

Google says the figures should never have been made public, and has asked the judge to redact and seal the transcript.

The US search firm said the information was intended for an "attorney's eyes only," and noted that it does not reveal its earnings for Android.

"Google does not publicly allocate revenues or profits to Android separate and apart from Google’s general business," lawyers for Google noted in the filing.

"That non-public financial data is highly sensitive, and public disclosure could have significant negative effects on Google’s business."

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Google's Android operating system is hugely-popular, with some 1.4 billion users worldwide

 



The operating system powers smartphones, smartwatches and tablet



 

Android – a free smartphone and tablet operating system launched back in 2008 – generates money for Google in two ways.

First, any advertisements supplied by Google and displayed on Android devices, and a percentage Google takes from sales made from its mobile app store, Google Play.

Oracle Corp. has not revealed the methodology it used to come up with the $31 billion figure.

 

But if the figure is correct, Google has earned less from Android during its lifetime than Apple earned from iPhone sales in the last three months of 2015, which generated $32.2 billion in revenue.

The closely watched case between Oracle Corp. and Google involves how much copyright protection should extend to the Java programming language, which Google used to design the operating system. 

Oracle is seeking royalties for Google's use of some of the Java language, while Google argues it should be able to use Java without paying a fee.

There are currently 1.4 billion Android users worldwide, some 53 per cent of the global mobile OS market.