Throughout its existence, Android was an open source project, which was developed in public and in collaboration with the community and based on an open platform to which any manufacturer can be added. Next week, one of these things will change.
In a surprising change and the consequences of which are not yet clear, The development of Android will become private; In other words, Google will develop Android in secret and without informing the general public or the developers of the modifications which implement in the operating system. For the average user, this should not assume any difference in their experience; But for enthusiasts, this is the end of an era.
First of all, we must clarify that when we speak of “ Android '', we really speak of ASP (open source Android project)The heart of the open source operating system from which a complete system can be developed. All Android versions used in mobile phones, tablets and other devices are based on AOSP, and this includes the “official” version of Google in the pixel, but also projects that modify the system like Xiaomi and Huawei Harmonyos hyperos. AOSP is an open system under the Apache 2.0 license, which means that anyone can download the code and modify it without paying Google or publish the modifications.
However, AOSP is different from other open source projects in the sense Google is its unique developer. Although the company officially accepts the contributions of other developers, in practice, almost all of the Android code is scheduled by Google Engineers, which is published so that everyone can see it. And over the years, it has generated a problem.
As Google develops Android by yourself, in reality You maintain two separate projects at the same time; On the one hand, there is the AOSP public version that everyone can see, on the other hand, the version in which Google engineers work. Although it seems strange, there are in fact differences between the two versions, simply by the way in which the responsibilities and the development teams are divided.
For example, some AOSP components, such as everything related to Bluetooth connectivity, is developing publicly and remains updated in the public version of AOSP. But other components, such as those linked to the heart of the system, develop in private in the internal version of Google. This supposes that at any time, there may be differences between the two versions, and also It is a continuous maintenance Make sure that the public version of AOSP is functional; For example, engineers sometimes had to resolve conflicts between two parts of the system in the two AOSP versions.
This constant maintenance and the resources spent are the reason why Google helps make the controversial decision to take the development of Google. The company was quick to clarify Android authority What This does not mean that Android has become private and the code will continue with a free license. The main change is that, from next week, the public version of AOSP will only be updated with each new version of Android, and not constantly so far.
For the end user, that should not mean anything. After all, the Android versions we use have been modified from AOSP by manufacturers (who continue to have access to the private version of Google), and although Google declares that this change will make the most efficient development, it is unlikely that the new versions of Android will arrive before.
Those who can be affected by change are enthusiasts who examine the Android source code looking for new products, and now they will have to wait to see them at the same time as everyone. Some developers can also be affectedS, especially those who want to contribute to AOSP or record changes and want to be up to date; Although application developers should not notice the difference, because Google already announces changes in the platform if necessary.
Interestingly, the specialized press as a Spanish – the free android will surely be the big initially affected; Many leaks related to Android come from the code published in AOSP. For example, it is sometimes possible to find references to products that have not yet been announced or to functions that are still in development. So we can expect Less Android leaks and Google products.
Therefore, it is initially unlikely that this change of Android will make a big difference for most people; Another problem is that it is in the long term. No one escapes only this decision Give Google greater control About Android, because only license developers can access private AOSP development.
With this change, Google is also protected against criticisms of future controversial decisions In the system, as modifications that can affect users and will only be discovered when and how society decides. Finally, with this type of decisions, it always seems that, one day, Google can decide to transform Android into a private project like iOS and put an end to the ecosystem as such.
