Boundaries between smartphone platforms aren’t always hard-and-fast lines. We’ve got Android apps running on BlackBerry 10, chatter about dual-OS phones (which never seem to get off the ground in the way we might like), and models like the new Nokia X which may be Android at their cores, but sure don’t look or feel like it. Perhaps in an effort to clarify what’s capital-A Android and what’s not, or just to help more firmly connect the Android brand to our smartphone experiences, Google seems to be laying down rules that will require the presence of a “powered by Android” logo displayed during the boot process.

Well, Google can’t very require it for any and all Android devices (certainly not Nokia X-type stuff, or the Kindle Fire), but if you’re an OEM who wants all that Google Mobile Services goodness (so, the vast majority of Android devices), it appears that Google is starting to require the logo you see above – on the brand new HTC One, there.

Leaked documents detail Google’s design language for the logo (can’t mess with spacing, font, colors, et al), and while the docs don’t specifically spell out that this is a mandatory requirement, that detail’s been confirmed by insiders – and based on the evidence we see here, we’re inclined to believe it.

Still, there could be exceptions we don’t know about – Android Police astutely notes that the Verizon M8 doesn’t seem to feature the logo, but maybe Google is giving manufacturers some breathing room, and the cut-off date for this being a hard requirement hasn’t yet been reached.

Chances are, though, you’ll be seeing this logo a whole lot in the future.

Source: Geek.com
Via: Android Police