Get ready for Google's proprietary Android. It's coming – analyst

[lowendlinux]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/08/google_is_taking_android_proprietary_heres_how/

Google is preparing to seize control of Android with its own proprietary closed-source version of the mobile operating system, an analyst claims.

Technology analyst Richard Windsor says that a highly confidential internal project is underway to rewrite the ART runtime, removing any lingering dependencies from the freely downloadable open source AOSP (Android Open Source Project) code base.

This is a long-standing theme for Windsor, who most recently raised it here.

I hope someone forks it an develops on their own if this turns out to be true.

 

[epicrayban]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/08/google_is_taking_android_proprietary_heres_how/



I hope someone forks it an develops on their own if this turns out to be true.

What will this mean? I'm not entirely sure I understand.

 

[lowendlinux]

What will this mean? I'm not entirely sure I understand.

By forking??

I hope someone grabs the AOSP code and continues to develop it like say Canonical or Red Hat. F Droid is there and could be tuned into a repo for software. It would be a nice companion product for either company but most especially a company like Red Hat.

 

[jamezr]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/08/google_is_taking_android_proprietary_heres_how/



I hope someone forks it an develops on their own if this turns out to be true.

This rumor has been circulating for a few years now. Would love to see Google have more control over what the end product looks like...but this doesn't make sense. There are all kinds of Android forks from ASOP.....Look at CyanogenMod!
There will always be forks of Android because the base is open source.

 

[v0lume4]

I've had a feeling deep down for a long time that Google slowly wants to gain control of Android in the manner that Apple has control of iOS and its devices. I think this is good and bad. I believe that for Google to truly compete head-to-head with Apple, they need a "Google Phone." Easy to shop for (meaning 1-3 choices max, like the iPhone), timely updates, and a more unified platform. Heck I'd buy that phone. On the other hand, Android has always been open. That's the appeal of it. So where do you draw the line?

Would it be enough for people to install custom launchers and apps like before, but WITHOUT the ability to flash the ROM? I don't know.

--

edit: Not sure if Google wants hardware and software control or just software control.

 

[GigabitEthernet]

But Google already have a "Google Phone"; it's called the Nexus.

This has been rumoured for years and years and I just don't see it happening.

 

[v0lume4]

But Google already have a "Google Phone"; it's called the Nexus.

This has been rumoured for years and years and I just don't see it happening.

Yes, I love the Nexus in fact. But it's still manufactured by a third party, isn't marketed very hard, etc. Besides, the general public, if they have even heard of a Nexus phone, probably doesn't know what makes it different from other Android phones. Heck when you say "Android" most folks probably just think of the Samsung Galaxy. If Google shifted its marketing and made the "Google phone," I think it'd have people interested. Better yet, if they renamed Android to GoogleOS or something. But Android has been called Android for so long now that I don't see it going away.

 

[spinedoc77]

Meh, analysts are about as worthless as movie critics. But I do hope he's right and they wrest away control of the OS from the oem's and the carriers. I can't wait for the day that I can install Android the very day Google announces a new version. I don't see it happening though, Google doesn't want to lose all the vehicles which carry it's advertising to the world. Unless they could come up with some compelling hardware, or convince the oem's to fall in line and lose control over the OS.

 

[Savor]

I feel indifferent with it since I am not want of those types you yearns for software updates every year and don't mind OEM skins. What I do hope is Google rewrites Android but models it after low spec hardware. By modeling it after phones with only 1 GB to run smoothly, this benefits everyone including the flagships in the longer haul.

I was reading a comment on GSM Arena...

Have you actually used any of the older "up to date" ios devices?

I currently own all iphones and ipads past iphone 4/ipad original and i can tell u each and every update HEAVILY degrades performance and battery life on all devices..
yea you can say iphone 4s,5 and ipad 2,3 are up to date , but at what cost?

They are all of them unusable..and i do mean UN-USABLE..takes 4 seconds to launch settings app, safari redraws any webpage after 2 tabs are opened and every 3 app you open forces most of the previous to shut..no thanks, i take a fully functional froyo android that actualy works over a destroyed up-to-date 4s, any day.

He makes a point. If you go on Apple official website and Q&A, it states the reason iPhones slow down is because they model the new software on newer hardware. The reason why KitKat was so stable was because when Google engineers were working on Project Svelte, it had a Nexus 4 with only 512 of RAM to work with instead of the normal 2 GB.

Yes, iPhone users benefits with timely updates but at what cost? I remember my iPhone 2G being slow by iOS3. It ran nothing like the 1.x.x days. When you watch that commercial, you would be amazed how fast it was before 2.0-3.0. But it aged terribly with its 128 MB of RAM. I played with 3Gs and it was unbearable to use by iOS6. The iPhone 4 already got laggy by iOS6 and worse by iOS7.

Hoping Android N is modeled by low end hardware like KitKat did modeling a Nexus 4 with half a gig of RAM. Everyone with higher spec and lower spec could benefit longer with it.