I'm pretty sure "Google-certified" is just the latest term for "has signed a contract to ship the proprietary Google parts of Android". (Google's blog post about this change links to a page which calls it "Play Protect certified", and this page says that all devices that ship Google apps are Play Protect Certified: https://support.google.com/android/answer/7165974?hl=en )
Amazon's "Kindle" tablets and TV devices famously do not ship Google apps, and sometimes you see restricted devices like the Rabbit R1 that just use the open-source parts of Android. But outside of China I don't think you can easily walk into a store and find a non-Google Android phone.
I don't think phones ever officially lapse out of Play Protect certified status -- the Nexus One, a phone from 2010, is still listed -- but presumably it'd be possible to find a phone old enough that it won't be able to download whatever Play Services OTA update they'll use to push this change.
Amazon's "Kindle" tablets and TV devices famously do not ship Google apps, and sometimes you see restricted devices like the Rabbit R1 that just use the open-source parts of Android. But outside of China I don't think you can easily walk into a store and find a non-Google Android phone.
I don't think phones ever officially lapse out of Play Protect certified status -- the Nexus One, a phone from 2010, is still listed -- but presumably it'd be possible to find a phone old enough that it won't be able to download whatever Play Services OTA update they'll use to push this change.