Google and Android is weirder. The base OS is still totally open source and based on a Linux kernel. But in order to distribute Android with Play/Gapps, you hav

Google and Android is weirder. The base OS is still totally open source and based on a Linux kernel. But in order to distribute Android with Play/Gapps, you have to join the Open Handset Alliance. You're heavily restricted on what apps you can bundle and you CANNOT manufacture any Amazon Fire devices (or any Android devices that do not contain the Google base services). The base is open, but what makes it useful is licensed, essentially making the free still crippled. I did a post about Android a while back: https://penguindreams.org/blog/android-fragmentation/ https://penguindreams.org/blog/android-fragmentation/