Comment by kbolino

I would be surprised if Android has a reputational issue among users. Maybe at the margins, but not enough to significantly affect market share. Most people have already sorted into iOS and Android camps already.

To whatever extent Google may be responding to an issue arising from the market, it is likely at the behest of large companies, especially payment processors, payment card networks, banks, etc. These institutions lately have begun to exert increasing influence over end-user activities, and it would not surprise me if they are playing a part here, too.