Well, the solution to that would be for Google to require device manufacturers to make it possible for Google itself or other parties to release software for de

Well, the solution to that would be for Google to require device manufacturers to make it possible for Google itself or other parties to release software for devices. That means forcing the manufacturers to release the source of any component not behind a stable ABI, and release at least the binaries of any component behind them such as apps (with a suitable license). They have two ways of doing this: 1. Make it a condition for bundling Google Apps 2. Relicense Android with GPLv3 The phone manufacturers aren't really in a position to negotiate (can't lose apps), so they should go along. Once this is done, they can just have the Play Store offer or even require updates to the OS. Not sure what Google gains from not doing this, it seems they are just gifting users to Apple.