It looks like Google plans to relax rules for phone makers who want to release smartphones or tablets powered by Android operating system.

According to AndroidCentral, the search giant will no longer require these companies to install some of its applications on Android devices they are bringing to market.

The new rules are likely to take effect in the next couple of weeks and implies less bloatware on Android devices, which is something that customers have been complaining about for quite a while.

In the past, phone makers that wanted to put Gmail or Maps on their Android devices were forced to put other Google apps inside their phones/tablets as well, even though these apps and services weren't useful to many users.

Samsung, HTC, LG and other handset manufacturers were blamed for including Google apps that few would use, but the truth is they were part of a mandatory package list given to them by the search giant.

So, if they wanted Gmail or other app to be pre-installed on their Android devices, they had to include other apps as well.

The apps remain available for download in Google Play Store

But not anymore, as Google has decided to remove quite a few apps from the mandatory package list, which limits the number of apps that come pre-installed to Android devices to only a few.

According to the recent changes to the rules handset manufacturers need to follow in order to get a Google approved version of Android, the following apps are no longer mandatory: Google Play games, Google Play Books, Google+ and Google Newsstand.

These apps add to the already removed Google Earth and Google Keep, which were mandatory in the past but have been removed from the list a while ago.

Keep in mind, though, that all the applications mentioned earlier will still be available for download via Google Play Store, and they will continue to be updated, so those who require these apps can install them whenever they feel like.