Though Google does not profit directly by giving away Android software to phone vendors, they do take 30 percent cut on app sales, just like Apple. This is peanuts compared to Google's indirect, mobile advertising-based revenues. Understandably, of course, as Google's ad-based business model benefits from people using their many services on the go, such as maps and search.
The more people use Google on their handsets, the higher advertising revenues the company pulls. At Android's scale, it's easy to think that Google gets more revenue from Android phones and tablets than Apple's iPhones, iPads and iPod touches.
According to a newspaper article today, based on court documents, Android’s total revenue from the launch of handsets at the end of 2008 through to the end of 2011 was $543 million. Still, Google made four times as much revenue during the same period on iOS devices.