Android Development Is Going Private As Google Confirms Big Strategy Shift
Google will now be keeping all Android development within its internal branch, closing it off to other developers. The company feels the move is necessary because having to manage both its internal branch and the AOSP branch led to conflicts during development. There have been several instances where Google developers have had to jump through hoops to ensure that a patch is implemented properly on both branches. While this approach will likely reduce headaches for Google, it might mean losing out on important contributions from developers outside of the company.
However, this doesn’t mean that Google is abandoning open source releases of Android. The operating system’s source code will still be released to the AOSP, free for others to continue to use. What it does mean is that non-Google developers who were looking to contribute code will no longer be able to do so. Additionally, developers keen on keeping tabs on Android development to see what proposed changes might mean for the platform are also going to be locked out.
Users, meanwhile, are unlikely to feel any meaningful changes to their experience. Most app developers and custom ROM makers won’t be affected by these upcoming changes. There’s a possibility that this move could lead to bugs or other issues being addressed in a quicker manner, but it’s difficult to tell whether or not it will lead to users seeing a quicker update cadence.
Reports are that Google will be making an official announcement regarding this shift sometime this week.
