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AOSP isn't dead, but Google just landed a huge blow to custom ROM developers (www.androidauthority.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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TL;DR

  • Google has made it harder to build custom Android ROMs for Pixel phones by omitting their device trees and driver binaries from the latest AOSP release.

  • The company says this is because it’s shifting its AOSP reference target from Pixel hardware to a virtual device called “Cuttlefish” to be more neutral.

  • While Google insists AOSP isn’t going away, developers must now reverse-engineer changes, making the process for supporting Pixel devices more difficult.

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[–] 62 points 1 year ago (11 children)

Does this mean Graphene is dead? Probably the real reason they would do this is to kill Graphene.

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  • [–] 85 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    The GrapheneOS team is very aware of their dependence on google. They are planning to either find an OEM for their own line of hardware or a brand whose phones support their requirements other than google. That being said, it will complicate work a lot, but for now it would be to early to jump to that conclusion.

    Also, Google couldn't care less if <1% of buyers flash a custom ROM / OS on their phone, this is about tying the android ecosystem closer to google in general. Most other big phone manufacturers know this and are trying to come up with their own solution, like Huawei had to because of the ban when the orange man has been president the first time.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    or a brand whose phones support their requirements other than google.

    Wasn't Graphene's "selling point" for long being that nothing but Pixels can match their reqs? I don't see why any current band would want to make it easier for them, and I also don't see new brand significantly entering the market.

    Graphene boiled themselves in their own frogpan.

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  • [–] 28 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    This is not a selling point but rather a unfortunate but comprehensible circumstance. Nexus and later Pixel phones have not been anything more than reference hardware without significant sales until the Pixel 6. Google has been a software company that has greatly benefited by android being an "open" platform you could contribute to and use their services on.

    The App / Cloud ecosystem has gained a lot of competitors, so Google is doing their best to reverse this course of action by pulling more and more functionality out of AOSP into Play services and now into Cuttlefish. We can only wait and see how other phone manufacturers react to this.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    We can only wait and see how other phone manufacturers react to this.

    Honestly, it's obvious how they will react. After all, they'd have to pass a certification process if they want to be able to ship Google stuff.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Nah, you have it backwards. GrapheneOS didn't choose Pixels for any reason other than they're the only acceptably secure devices out there. I can't imagine they want this to be the case.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

    That still sounds like choosing to me. Like, if your project requirements are so strict that it only works on the mornings of a Tuesday that falls in a prime number day that has a blue moon and where there are no ATP tennis matches going on (all pre-existing things you have no vote on), maybe you should re-evaluate if you actually want your proyect to have a viable audience.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    Is it really so outlandish to want my phone to be unbreakable by cops?

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago

    In this year of 2025? No. But it still is basically setting oneself for failure from the perspective of Graphene, IMO. Like, the strongest protection in the world (assuming Graphene even is, which is quite a tall order statement) is useless if it only works on the mornings of a Tuesday that falls in a prime number day that has a blue moon and where there are no ATP tennis matches going on. Everyone else is, like, living in the real world, and the uniqueness of your scenario is going to go down the drain once your users get presented with a $5 wrench, or even cheaper: a waterboard. Because cops, let alone ICE, are not going to stop to ask you if they can make you more comfortable with your privacy being violated.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago

    It certainly feels like it is judging by the general moodshifts occuring. But I'm a moron, what alternative exists for a secure phone of comparable functionality? It feels like ditching phones is the only option to some extent(for me). If stupid, isn't the phone the most vulnerable weakpoint open to attack?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    This fits into Google tying Android closer to them, same with the recent move of only making release source publicly available.

    They're regretting having started Android as an "open" platform and want to gain control fast, maybe preparing for the current anti-trust trials they are facing in the US.

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