Google will develop Android OS behind closed doors starting next week

Post by bfrog » Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 9:32 PM UTC

rozab wrote: post #19

rchaud wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No OEM is interested in AOSP builds, because no one is going to buy an Android phone without Google Play Services, which is required for many popular apps to work (banking, games). There were some Chinese OEMs that ran an Android build and have unofficial ways to get Play Store working (Boox eReaders for example), but those are increasingly rare now, as years of sanctions has led to Huawei de-Googling itself fast, wi…

Kindle Fire? Your smart TV? Your car infotainment? Android is everywhere even without Google

Post by g-b-r » Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 9:33 PM UTC

johnea wrote: post #7

IncreasePosts wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really clear how moving this project to a private repo is evil. If you're going to argue it is a "bait and switch", that implies intent to deceive. Do you think that was the plan? Release the first version in 2007 and then wait 18 years and pull the ol switcheroo?

Depending on how it's done of course. If all commits are squashed into a single giant commit for each release to AOSP, then tracking exactly what happened since the last release will become much more difficult. All of this highlights the ever increasing need for linux phones, with the ability to run android apps in virtual machines. Although, goggle apps already refuse to operate in some of these environments, and I'…

Post by fweimer » Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 9:37 PM UTC

microtonal wrote: post #24

merb wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The good thing is that at least the kernel and the VM/runtime need to be open source

the VM/runtime need to be open source Isn't ART Apache 2-licensed? They don't have to provide the source. I don't see why they would completely close it though. It would lead to forks, plus they have a lot of control through Google Play Services etc. already.

Post by overfeed » Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 9:38 PM UTC

nvllsvm wrote: post #60

mainecoder wrote: post #14

I hope they make it closed source and make us much money out of it as possible for shareholders that is their job and their duty, why are they giving this away for free they have already captured market share by claiming opensource and building a community now all they have to do is make it proprietary and the old opensource version slowly wither and become unstable, then they can charge money for the operating syste…

As much as I - a Pixel 7 (GrapheneOS) user - would hate that, doing so would essentially put Android on equal footing as iOS and would give me a serious reason to consider switching to an iPhone. Apple's hardware is just so much sleeker, faster, and better than Google's mediocre Pixel line.

Post by JustExAWS » Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 9:45 PM UTC

nimbius wrote: post #52

monetus wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a bit disturbing that that might be the plan though.

if it really is, they should take note of exactly what happened to Oracle when they acquired solaris and mysql and turned them into proprietary applications. Whatever investment they had made in them literally evaporated in a week as mariadb and galera showed up. OpenIndiana basically made continued solaris development at Oracle a moot point, not that it wasnt already with Linux on the scene. RedHat has tried somethi…