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> In Android 8.0, you need to use Google Play services I agree. This point is under appreciated. The GPS libraries and their backend services (e.g. Maps and Lo

> In Android 8.0, you need to use Google Play services I agree. This point is under appreciated. The GPS libraries and their backend services (e.g. Maps and Location, Push Notifications, Google Auth, etc) to a great extent ARE the android SDK. I don't quite see how Yegge's use of the word "stealing" can be correct. No one can steal those backend services. A competitor is going to have to reimplement services like Maps and Push Notifications (not to mention the Google Play Store itself). And that just means more fragmentation in the marketplace, not stealing android.

kuschku 9y ago
Actually, this has been done twice. Recently by the open microG project, and earlier by Amazon. Reimplementing every Google Play service, bug for bug, bit for bit. And Amazon did it (and microG is close). This is what prompted Google's SafetyNet project, and Google changing Chromecast to lock out Amazon and open source projects. Google did everything they could to prevent competition, and yet, they didn't succeed.