alt Hacker NewsAOSP dev went private, and Google is slower and slower at releasing the source, now twice a year. Worse, many stock apps like the Dialer and Gallery went closed-source years ago.
But the source isn't the point, it's the governance. Just like Chrome, having the source is not enough to guarantee an open platform. Sure you can disable telemetry flags. But you cannot afford to maintain an important feature Google wants to remove, like MV2.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/google-makes-android... https://www.androidauthority.com/android-16-qpr1-source-code...
Replies
auggierose • today at 10:58 AM
The problem is, if you cannot afford to maintain it, how could you afford to both build AND maintain your own version of it?
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> But you cannot afford to maintain an important feature Google wants to remove, like MV2.
That depends on who "you" is. Maintaining extensive patch sets is still way cheaper than building and maintaining an entire browser.