A minimal core with just enough functionality to be useful, then a plugin framework with hooks for all the other features that everyone else needs to build in.

A minimal core with just enough functionality to be useful, then a plugin framework with hooks for all the other features that everyone else needs to build in. A minimal phone with just enough functionality to be useful, then an app store to get all of other functionality you need via downloadable apps. Its a model that works well, providing an ecosystem to anyone who wishes to extend. Code is kind of the same now.. Get the basic thing going, then people fork it, improve it, submit patches, sometimes over decades. The worst software imho, is a closed architecture that has the kitchen sink included that nobody can extend. Modularism and a pluggable architecture is much better than just minimalism on its own.