this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2025
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Android

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79
Google will develop Android OS entirely behind closed doors starting next week (9to5google.com)
submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
14 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Google is adjusting how Android is made, with the AOSP branch moving behind closed doors, leaving the entire OS to be privately developed.

top 14 comments
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[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago

Contributing to AOSP is already difficult. Now patches wrt stable branch will lead to more conflicts as stable gets older.

Why are parts of Android developed in private? It typically takes more than a year to bring a device to market. And, of course, device manufacturers want to ship the latest software they can. Meanwhile, developers don't want to constantly track new versions of the platform when writing apps. Both groups experience a tension between shipping products and not wanting to fall behind.

total bs (at https://source.android.com/docs/setup/about/faqs#why-are-parts-of-android-developed-in-private).

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Fucking RIP. Europe, throw us another sicc ass curve ball.

[–] Sunshine 3 points 5 days ago

Everyone must switch to:

  1. Ubuntu Touch Germany 🇩🇪
  2. Postmarket OS Europe 🇪🇺
  3. Sailfish OS Finland 🇫🇮
  4. Graphene OS Canada 🇨🇦
  5. /e/ OS France 🇫🇷

Please consider joining [email protected] to discuss the alternatives. We must support these hardworking developers more.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 week ago

So Google tightening the look but don't touch approach? Not a surprise at all. Google already implement this approach with Push notifications (FCM/GCM) and Hardware Attestation that makes custom android OS/ROM harder to recommend for most people that need for example app that needs good Location service and Phone Payment like Google Wallet.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Just to be clear: Android is NOT becoming closed source! Google remains committed to releasing Android source code (during monthly/quarterly releases, etc.) , BUT you won't be able to scour the AOSP Gerrit for source code changes like you could before.

https://x.com/MishaalRahman/status/1904905109022048280

[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It just looks like staging to take it closed. This is just worse for the consumer any way you slice it.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You're not wrong.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I am not sure, there was nothing stopping them from taking it fully closed now in one step. It is more likely making it open only after release is a measure to avoid all the community input spaff during development. So long and thanks for all the feedback.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

Sure there was. Backlash and bad publicity for one. This way they do it in small digestible bites.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago (2 children)

If only there was an open source alternative to Android that you could install on any phone.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago

If you have one in mind drop it in a comment

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

Big platforms will aggressively sabotage any country who tries taking their malwares from the population: better to go scorched-earth than to TOLERATE alternative/competition, right?

I won't be surprised when entire-countries' devices are bricked to teach the country a lesson, while the Russia+Trump alliance begins their total-war on that country..

Countries have already accommodated allowing all critical-infrastructure to be proprietary, in tech..

they are owned, & cannot get out of that with the incompetence that they got into it, with..

Exactly as the tech-oligarchs intended.

I'm a geek, & it makes me want to puke, what's been accomplished, against humankind's viability, by tech-people..

_ /\ _

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago

When Linux phones?

(Actually usable ones)

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 week ago

probably making pixel phones less able to switch to another OS, much like with IOS.