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jsiepkes04/24/20251 replyview on HN

You can't even install the resulting binaries of an opensource Android build on a phone because of gaps. And even if you could (or fill in the gaps) Google poisoned the ecosystem by ensuring almost all Android apps require Google Play services. Which aren't open source and you realistically need for all Android apps.

So no, Google made sure there is no open source Android. There are just some (incomplete) source dumps.


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bitpush04/24/2025

Gapps were ever open source. Android, the operating system, is what's open source.

Are you saying because Google Maps isn't open source, the operating system is useless?

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