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Google will develop the Android OS fully in private, and here's why (www.androidauthority.com)
submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by misk@sopuli.xyz to c/technology@beehaw.org
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No matter the manufacturer, every Android phone has one thing in common: its software base. Manufacturers can heavily customize the look and feel of the Android OS they ship on their Android devices, but under the hood, the core system functionality is derived from the same open-source foundation: the Android Open Source Project. After over 16 years, Google is making big changes to how it develops the open source version of Android in an effort to streamline its development.

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[-] sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 24 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

In case people missed or are unaware of the context:

https://www.crn.com/news/cloud/2024/doj-google-must-divest-chrome-possibly-android-google-fires-back

https://www.howtogeek.com/united-states-doj-google-android-chrome-split/

The DoJ recently (before Trump got elected) won an anti-trust lawsuit against Google, and the lawsuit is currently in the stage of haggling over the extent of the penalty actions taken against Google as a result.

One of the things the DoJ is pushing for is breaking off not only Chrome but also Android from Google to just leave Google with its search stuff.

This is like splitting up Bell from decades ago.

What Google is doing right now is strategic positioning to be able to argue that Android can't be split off from Google without causing them too much pain, and by making Android more and more dependent on, and nonfunctional without being under the same corporate ownership.

This is a powerplay to try to not be broken up so hard by the anti-trust lawsuit they already lost.

https://wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Google_LLC_(2020)

The actual penalty ruling is expected to come down by August 2025... unless the Trump admin fucks with it, somehow they... haven't seemed to yet notice or care that this lawsuit is going on, despite Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, having a literal front row seat at Trump's inauguration.

[-] Flocklesscrow@lemm.ee 5 points 3 days ago

Thank you for putting this together

[-] sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 days ago

No problem!

Wonderful username btw, haha.

[-] FrostyPolicy@suppo.fi 93 points 4 days ago

This is the first step in moving to fully closed source. I guess degooled versions are getting too popular thus a threat to google's business.

[-] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 55 points 4 days ago

What? The ROM market share is nowhere near what it once was in terms of percentage or raw numbers.

[-] N0x0n@lemmy.ml 20 points 4 days ago

True ! But there is a resurgence of ROMs. Squeezing any precent as low as possible is their goal, killing open-source/alternatives as much as they can !

I really hope hardware/software alternatives in the phone market get some funds to get away from the big tech monopoly.

[-] megopie@beehaw.org 4 points 4 days ago

when average users start fleeing en mass, it’s already to late, and arguably it’s approaching a critical mass where there is enough common knowledge and “friends who use that” to make the jump easier. Right now, the average user doesn’t have much of a reason to jump, but if Google has to restructure their business model due to their ad monopoly getting crowbarred, they might implement stuff that would be enough to get average users to start jumping.

[-] masterspace@lemmy.ca 46 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

This is the first step in moving to fully closed source.

Agreed. At the very least to a point where Android isn't usable by anyone else.

I guess degooled versions are getting too popular thus a threat to google's business.

Lol, that I doubt. I'm willing to bet that the Meta Quest alone dwarfs the install share of all custom ROMs combined, let alone Amazon's Fire ecosystem.

[-] balder1993@programming.dev 14 points 4 days ago

They can’t close the source code as long as they use the Linux kernel, right? Besides, Android is popular among other companies because they can customize part of it as they see fit.

This change isn’t really that drastic, because Android never really followed the open source way of doing things. The article even explains that this won’t change much even for ROM developers, since they’re not creating releases based on “work in progress” branches.

Really the only difference is that Google will spare the work of merging two separate branches often and solving conflicts that might as well be turning into a nightmare as the code base has grown.

[-] jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de 26 points 4 days ago

They can't close the kernel. They already distribute Android with proprietary software - for example Google Play services and DRM services.

[-] FrostyPolicy@suppo.fi 4 points 4 days ago

Quite true. Linux and all modules loaded into it are GPL licensed. The userland and tooling on the other hand can be licensed however. They are free to close source on anything except kernel code.

[-] smeg@feddit.uk 9 points 4 days ago

Google will continue to publish the source code for Android’s Linux kernel fork, as it is licensed under GPLv2, which mandates source code releases, and is separate from AOSP.

This is about AOSP, which apparently is separate and uses the MIT licence.

I can't see it making a huge difference, Android has always been in that "OSS but not FOSS" area of basically being completely owned and controlled by Google.

[-] jarfil@beehaw.org 3 points 4 days ago

Android is Android/Linux, not GNU/Linux.

The Linux kernel is compatible with a closed source userland, what makes GNU/Linux attract the userland towards open source, is GNU's glibc, other libc alternatives don't have that effect.

[-] darkkite@lemmy.ml 5 points 4 days ago

I would be surprised if that was the cause.

[-] Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com 39 points 4 days ago

They've been locking down the play store, important features, and I suspect revanced had blown a gasket or two in meetings. Time to crack down, DRM up, and enshittify.

Time to break another monopoly.

[-] noodlejetski@lemm.ee 41 points 4 days ago

Google confirmed to Android Authority that it is committed to publishing Android’s source code, so this change doesn’t mean that Android is becoming closed-source. The company will continue to publish the source code for new Android releases, so when Google releases Android 16 later this year, we’ll get the source code for the update. In addition, Google will continue to publish the source code for Android’s Linux kernel fork, as it is licensed under GPLv2, which mandates source code releases, and is separate from AOSP.

[-] iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee 28 points 4 days ago

I could only hope this would make a good case for some EU-funded project for a fully open RISC 5 Linux phone.

[-] dumblederp@aussie.zone 11 points 4 days ago

With an sd card and easily swappable battery pls.

[-] space_iio@sopuli.xyz 8 points 3 days ago

And FM radio!

[-] InFerNo@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 days ago

The problem is software. The ecosystem of android is gigantic. Every business, big or small has an app.

Microsoft tried and failed. No users, no apps. No apps, no users.

Google actively worked against Microsoft and got what they wanted: no competition.

[-] iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee 3 points 3 days ago

If you have Linux, you have waydroid. There can be a transition time, just like the Steam Deck is making clear the need of a windows computer for gaming is now irrelevant.

[-] OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 2 points 3 days ago

Biggest issue is banking apps, those need some sort of care to make work either by increasing the amount of Linux phones or by introducing patches that convince these banking apps that waydroid is legit (likely to be fixed)

[-] dubyakay@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 days ago

Banking apps just buy into false security peddled by google. They are absolutely not necessary for security of an app, just like kernel level DRM & anti cheat is not necessary for video games.

[-] OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 2 points 3 days ago

Yeah, they're the same situation of anti cheats, and banking apps might be even more conservative on these decisions vs. game developers

[-] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 30 points 4 days ago

Fucking Sundar Pichai!

this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2025
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