I was not precise. I should have said gnu-Linux to differentiate from Linux as just the kernel, my bad. It's gnu-libux that gives you that feel you are on the family even if you have ubuntu or Gentoo.

But I beg to differ: AOSP cannot be called Linux in any way. It happens to use Linux as a kernel as you say, but lacks everything that make an SO typically Linux(or gnu-linux):

• starting from the base of the system, AOSP doesn't use libc s system library like gnu-Linux
• even the C++ STD library of AOSP is incompatible as it lacks RTTI
• doesn't use anything like systemd or the init system (unless mod-added)
• has a totally different HAL which is not compatible between the two
• has a totally different network tooling stack
• has a totally incompatible GUI layer
• Most of android drivers have a thin kernel layer plus a huge proprietary AOSP layer libraries which are not gnu-Linux compatible
• the entire ecosystem of AOSP is kotlin/JavaScript instead of just being language agnostic

So no, you cannot say at all that AOSP is Linux after all. While you can run gnu-Linux binaries on android, and viceversa, you must provide a complete environment around them, like termux. It's more a container like approach.

They only share a kernel and there have been plans to replace that too.