Ask Android

2243 readers

41 users here now

A place to ask your questions and seek help related to your Android device and the Android ecosystem.

Whether you're looking for app recommendations, phone buying advice, or want to explore rooting and tutorials, this is the place for you!

Rules

Be descriptive: Help us help you by providing as many details as you can.
Be patient: You're getting free help from Internet strangers, so you may have to wait for an answer.
Be helpful: If someone asks you for more information, tell us what you can. If someone asks you for a screenshot, please provide one!
Be nice: Treat others with respect, even if you don't agree with their advice. Accordingly, you should expect others to be nice to you as well. Report intentionally rude answers.
No piracy: Sharing or discussing pirated content is strictly prohibited. Do not ask others for a paid app or about how to acquire one.
No affiliate/marketing links: Posting affiliate links is not allowed.
No URL shorteners: These can hide the true location of the page and lead people to malicious places.
No lockscreen bypasses: Please do not comment, link, or assist with bypassing lock screens or factory reset protection.
No cross-posting: Please take the time to make a proper post instead of cross-posting.

Other Communities

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

ijeff@lemdro.id

ladfrombrad@lemdro.id

The future of Android as an Open Source project (lemdro.id)

submitted 20 hours ago by chottomatte@lemdro.id to c/askandroid@lemdro.id

9 comments fedilink hide all child comments

If the court ended up forcing Google to sell Android, shouldn't we worry that its license as an open source project could be removed and then it become proprietary?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

It’s not entirely untrue. You did however add some relevant details. Thank you for making this more precise.

The point is: Android phone owners would still be fine if Google went full-proprietary at some point. A majority of the code would/could be forked and maintained.

Or a project like GrapheneOS that’s already based on Android code would be expanded to fill the void.

[–] Atemu@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

A majority of the code would/could be forked and maintained.

What makes you think that? If you've ever taken a look at the AOSP source code, you'll know that it's insanely huge. This isn't something a small community of volunteers can reasonably maintain; just like a web browser.

Or a project like GrapheneOS that’s already based on Android code would be expanded to fill the void.

Again, who do you expect to take on that insane task?

GrapheneOS is regular-ass android with some modifications to make it more secure on top. It's not "based on Android" it is (mostly) Android. It does some important modifications but that's details, not basic functionality.
If Google were to cut updates to Android, GrapheneOS would (rightly) make a stink but ultimately have to cease because they cannot maintain the entire rest of the Android code to keep it secure. I suspect they'd rather (loudly) end the project than keep limping along without proper security patches.

[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

Again, your specificity is appreciated.

I could be wrong, but it seems to me Android devices are too important to just let them be abandoned if Google goes full-proprietary. It wouldn’t just be volunteers. Many companies have a huge stake in this OS and would continue to contribute.