So Google charges Android manufacturers to use their os and put Google search at the heart of 90% of phones. One would wonder why quid pro quo doesnāt come into effect here.
Obvs when it comes to hardware I agree. I was talking about software
They charge for the Google Mobile Services license but that was just one of many items I listed. My point was that Google charges for a number of things, including many of the same types of things Apple does.
Additionally, Apple has shifted from charging for various software items to offering them for "free." MacOS upgrades used to cost money but are now "free." GarageBand, iMovie, Keynote, Pages and Numbers all used to cost money but are now "free." Yes, these software items
typically (some can be accessed through iCloud without an Apple device) require an Apple device which costs money but this is still a shift from when Apple directly charged for the software. Apple also used to give away software like Safari for Windows (2007 to 2012) for free that didn't require paying for an Apple device.
Google isn't the only one in the "free" software game as Apple is and has been for many years too. Also, if Apple were to get into the web search business, I imagine they'd operate similarly to Google, Bing, etc.