> How are they going to do this without generating more criticism?
From the people who make those crummy apps; criticism surely cannot hurt Google all that much?
> But then you’d have to get an OS update to heaps of phones.
That's not a viable option, this requires tons of work from OEM's that Google would have to pay for. I've rarely ever gotten any OS updates at all on Android - apart from my latest phone. But I think the only reason I get OS updates now is due to the fact that Nokia just ships stock Android under the "android_one" brand.
It’s better to bake it into the OS and push an update. But then you’d have to get an OS update to heaps of phones.