TechNow: Google makes "powered by Android" footer text compulsory for all Android in future.

Smartphone platforms have started to be so very hard to differentiate between each other. Android apps run on BlackBerry 10, there is rumors about dual-OS phones and smartphones like the new Nokia X are Android devices 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.

Google can’t very require it for any and all Android devices (excluding Nokia X lineup, Kindle Fire, etc), 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. It has also appeared on the recent Moto X and Moto G through a software update. Some images also point to the Samsung Galaxy S5 featuring this at launch!

Leaked documents detail Google’s design language for the logo (can’t mess with spacing, font, colors, at all), 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.