Google’s Rethinking its Strategy Towards AOSP Development

Google recently confirmed that it’s making some big changes with regards to how it will approach development on Android, particularly its open-source version. The company claims that this new strategy is aimed at streamlining Android development, although it’s not revealing everything at the moment.

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As initially reported by the folks over at Android Authority, Google is now consolidating its development efforts by moving all Android OS development to its internal branch, a change it’s making after 16 years. While Android manufacturers such as Samsung and Xiaomi (to name a few) customize the look and feel of Android to their liking, the foundation of these versions still uses the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) at the core.

At the moment, Google maintains both a public AOSP branch and a private internal branch. While some components are developed publicly, some such as the core OS framework, are developed internally. This can sometimes lead to the public branch lagging behind and causing complexities in merging code and resolving conflicts. To address this, Google will no longer have these separate branches, with all development happening internally.

It’s important to note that this change is not expected to make Android closed-source, as Google will still publish the source code for new Android releases. The primary impact will be on the frequency of public source code releases for specific components.

Additionally, while regular users and most developers (especially app developers and those building custom ROMs) are unlikely to notice a significant difference, external developers who actively follow and contribute to AOSP may find it more challenging to stay informed about and contribute to the platform’s development, as the publicly available code will be less up-to-date.

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This shift might also reduce the likelihood of leaks into upcoming Android features and devices through AOSP code changes. In any case, Google is expected to make further announcements regarding this new transition.

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