# Google makes Android development private, will continue open source releases

Source: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/google-makes-android-development-private-will-continue-open-source-releases
Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Google-makes-Android-development-private-will-continue-open-source-releases?index=0x67e558b37376c8843541c7f97228cd4fdb4c7e2ef8ce0fcb35f27ba08ceb0f1603a8d0c4
Submitted by macbudkowski.eth on 2025-03-27 UTC, 2 upvotes, 1 comment

## Summary

Google will move all Android development into its internal branch, with source code published to the public AOSP branch only when new versions are finished. Google confirmed the change to Android Authority and says it is meant to simplify development, building on a recent move to trunk-based development. The company states that working on separate public and private branches causes features and API support to fall out of sync, forcing Google to merge the branches tediously for every release. Google says it will still publish source code to AOSP as before, and licensed OEMs such as Samsung and Motorola will work mainly from the internal branch.

## Article

Google is planning a major change to the way it develops new versions of the Android operating system. Since the beginning, large swaths of the software have been developed in public-facing channels, but that will no longer be the case. This does not mean Android is shedding its open source roots, but the process won’t be as transparent.

Google has confirmed to Android Authority that all Android development work going forward will take place in Google’s internal branch. This is a shift from the way Google has worked on Android in the past, which featured frequent updates to the public AOSP branch. Anyone can access AOSP, but the internal branches are only available to Google and companies with a Google Mobile Services (GMS) license, like Samsung, Motorola, and others.

According to the company, it is making this change to simplify things, building on a recent change to trunk-based development. As Google works on both public and private branches of Android, the two fall out of sync with respect to features and API support. This forces Google to tediously merge the branches for every release. By focusing on the internal branch, Google claims it can streamline releases and make life easier for everyone.

When new versions of Android are done, Google says it will continue to publish the source code in AOSP as always. Supposedly, this will allow developers to focus on supporting their apps without keeping track of pending changes to the platform in AOSP. Licensed OEMs, meanwhile, can just focus on the lively internal branch as they work on devices that can take a year or more to launch.

## Comments

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