> but sadly it's still one of the better timelines: google play services is an app that they can update to provide better support and services for app, and this

> but sadly it's still one of the better timelines: google play services is an app that they can update to provide better support and services for app, and this was the solution they chose to fix the early days of "no manufacturer update their phone's OS, so new app can't rely on new features". I agree that their approach to the problem of updates was the right one. But they went too far - they also closed a vital part of OS from their partners and from users. They could have open-sourced it, but they didn't. I know it makes sense from business POV (Samsung was becoming dangerous to them), but it sucks for opensource alternatives.