Google has decided to keep the development of Android updates under wraps until their official release. The tech giant is pulling down the curtain on Android development to streamline the process.
Until now, Google operated two development branches for Android: an internal private branch and a public one called AOSP (Android Open Source Project). The public branch allowed transparency and contributions from developers outside the company, but all major changes originated from the private branch. This often resulted in a delay for developers to access new features.
From next week all Android development will consolidate into the internal private branch, Google has confirmed to Android Authority. While the public branch will continue to get the final updates, there will be no insight into the development process. This shift, aimed at improving efficiency, will mean that Google developers won’t waste time merging public and private code changes.
For the average Android user, this transition won’t disrupt their experience. Google will roll out app updates and release new versions of the operating system as usual. Developers and tech reporters can expect more significant changes. Developers who rely on AOSP may struggle to keep up with updates they can’t track in real time. Similarly, tech reporters will miss out on speculated features and leaks from AOSP code, such as the recent discovery of “Pixel 10” in the code.
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In the age of the litmus test that open-source has been to project health, Google is now gambling with its draw by pulling the curtain on Android’s development synergy with the public.
Google bet big on investors, developers and fanboys when they made it their tool for outsource transparency. By linking up with the public AOSP developers, it was easier to spot the errors and improvise on features using the help of outsiders. Our question is what made Google’s android development go this dramatic.
Regardless, developers purchasing a Google developed phone have forwards and backwards compatibility they need to adapt.
Too much of a delay on releasing codes may allow bespoke android developed to reach the product first before its consumer-friendly colonels at Google show the intended downloads.
Regardless of the pre and post-release veil that the public will continue to have. Indeed there is something noteworthy around the block, Google took a phenomenal fallback to improve the mentioned inefficiencies. Google’s next rate of code launch has been a double fold bother of merging code, likely this difficulty may be jettisoned soon and information of upcoming rates still feel secluded until future technology catches up with java’s current performance.
