4 ms·

google still owns android

by seydor 4y ago

pulse7 4y ago
True, but Android is open-source and suppliers can replace default search engine - and other services - on it...
Zigurd 4y ago
More precisely, Google makes AOSP, which is the basis for a licensed version of Android that includes a number of proprietary apps. Two things are not likely to happen: 1. Samsung will not give up on licensing Google proprietary package of apps. 2. Google will not yank Samsung's license. Google will absolutely tighten the screws on their future contracts to discourage these deals, as well as sweeping out crappy "customizations."
- 0zemp1c 4y ago
  > as well as sweeping out crappy "customizations." huh? Samsung OneUI features have been making their way into mainstream AOSP...particularly the tablet-focused stuff there is no way Google will ever try to "strong arm" Samsung...Samsung is the Android market, the Pixel line is a rounding error and in no way a competitive threat
  - onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
    Hmm... >40% of Samsung's net revenue is mobile devices. Only ~56% of Google's revenue is from Search ads - <50% of that comes from Android - and <35% of that comes from Samsung. <10% of Google's total revenue comes from Samsung devices >40% of Samsung's NET REVENUE comes from selling Android devices. It's almost as if Samsung is a lot more dependent on Google than the other way around. At the end of the day - the majority of people you default to Bing search are going to switch back to Google. Samsung will be lucky to get a meaningful amount of money. MSFT can't outbid Google because they can't make as much money from the searches as Google.
    - 0zemp1c 4y ago
      > It's almost as if Samsung is a lot more dependent on Google than the other way around. in a pinch, Samsung could just fork the AOSP project and continue forward without Google, it would be trivial for app makers to re-publish their apps in a Samsung app store (and many already do)
      - Zigurd 4y ago
        Someone in Microsoft is going to deserve a huge bonus if they can talk Samsung into making a successor to Surface Duo.
      - onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
        Except they tried this several times, and it hasn't worked.
  - Andrex 4y ago
    > there is no way Google will ever try to "strong arm" Samsung...Samsung is the Android market, the Pixel line is a rounding error and in no way a competitive threat They've been strong-arming every Android OEM since the start (Google Mobile Services agreement). ("Strong arming" being closer to Apple exerting control vs. the wild west of pre-2007 cellphones.) It's finally starting to bear fruit with things like Project Mainline and Project Treble, but the political winds have changed and I expect various Gov'ts to claw back the control Google has on OEMs over the next decade. Whether Google can continue their efforts to ensure a stable Android platform is an open question after that. I can't point to anything specific since I'm rushing this comment, but it should be fairly obvious that Google lets OEMs do things their own way until the dust settles and Google synthesizes the different approaches into the "official" AOSP way. I'm not sure any actual code from OneUI has made it into Android, that would surprise me. Google really likes doing things "their way" in Android. The Android team takes UI inspiration from everyone, but most of their eyeball time is on Apple.
dougmwne 4y ago
An extremely second rate phone platform compared to iOS where the customers don’t spend nearly as much money and they have minimal control over their hardware partners.
- seydor 4y ago
  .. which owns 80% of the market. Maybe iOS users spend more on hardware & apps but everyone spends money online shopping
- adithyassekhar 4y ago
  Then linux should be a second rate platform since no one spend enough money and there is zero control over what it runs on. Android is also technically more advanced than anything Apple in pure versatility and user control. Apple execs might get nightmares if someone suggested giving more control to their user. I can stay in the walled garden or play outside with naughty apps and emulators. Android's safety model is not based on restricting what the user can do. Security by obscurity is the least one can do. I understand everyone has a phone choice and some people prefer their phone less sophisticated or less feature rich or more basic. But just because you prefer something so reduced in functionality that it's a waste of the incredible silicon powering it does not mean you can belittle something far more capable. Especially in a developer oriented website.
balls187 4y ago
It does, and funny enough that Antitrust lawsuit against MSFT bundling IE in Windows may end up helping them here.
gspencley 4y ago
Most of Android is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license. So while the word "owns" is true in a technical legal sense, there is nothing to prevent anyone from forking it and doing their own thing. Unlike with GPL code, they don't even need to license their changes under the same license as long as they abide the terms with respects to the original. Personally I use GrapheneOS in order to "de-Google" without switching to the Apple ecosystem. No Google Play (you can install it but I choose not to), FOSS apps only. I don't recommend it for everyone but it made me not hate owning a smart phone for the first time since the "mobile revolution" passed my old grumpy self by.
- muyuu 4y ago
  I've been looking at it. Ironically, you needed a Google Pixel to run it last I checked, right?
  - zirgs 4y ago
    Yup - Google made the best de-googleable phone.
    - dexterdog 4y ago
      They did and I bought a used pixel6 just to switch to graphene. The problem is that the next pixel will likely be much more difficult to do this with because google is going to not not be evil.
      - zirgs 4y ago
        The Pixel 7 is also supported by Graphene OS.
        dexterdog 4y ago
        I meant the next one to come out. The 7 was already out when I got my 6.
  - 4y ago
sebstefan 4y ago
What could they possibly do with that that doesn't violate an anti-trust law?

google still owns android

by seydor 4y ago

google still owns android

pulse7 4y ago

True, but Android is open-source and suppliers can replace default search engine - and other services - on it...

Zigurd 4y ago

More precisely, Google makes AOSP, which is the basis for a licensed version of Android that includes a number of proprietary apps. Two things are not likely to happen: 1. Samsung will not give up on licensing Google proprietary package of apps. 2. Google will not yank Samsung's license. Google will absolutely tighten the screws on their future contracts to discourage these deals, as well as sweeping out crappy "customizations."

0zemp1c 4y ago
> as well as sweeping out crappy "customizations." huh? Samsung OneUI features have been making their way into mainstream AOSP...particularly the tablet-focused stuff there is no way Google will ever try to "strong arm" Samsung...Samsung is the Android market, the Pixel line is a rounding error and in no way a competitive threat
- onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
  Hmm... >40% of Samsung's net revenue is mobile devices. Only ~56% of Google's revenue is from Search ads - <50% of that comes from Android - and <35% of that comes from Samsung. <10% of Google's total revenue comes from Samsung devices >40% of Samsung's NET REVENUE comes from selling Android devices. It's almost as if Samsung is a lot more dependent on Google than the other way around. At the end of the day - the majority of people you default to Bing search are going to switch back to Google. Samsung will be lucky to get a meaningful amount of money. MSFT can't outbid Google because they can't make as much money from the searches as Google.
  - 0zemp1c 4y ago
    > It's almost as if Samsung is a lot more dependent on Google than the other way around. in a pinch, Samsung could just fork the AOSP project and continue forward without Google, it would be trivial for app makers to re-publish their apps in a Samsung app store (and many already do)
    - Zigurd 4y ago
      Someone in Microsoft is going to deserve a huge bonus if they can talk Samsung into making a successor to Surface Duo.
    - onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
      Except they tried this several times, and it hasn't worked.
- Andrex 4y ago
  > there is no way Google will ever try to "strong arm" Samsung...Samsung is the Android market, the Pixel line is a rounding error and in no way a competitive threat They've been strong-arming every Android OEM since the start (Google Mobile Services agreement). ("Strong arming" being closer to Apple exerting control vs. the wild west of pre-2007 cellphones.) It's finally starting to bear fruit with things like Project Mainline and Project Treble, but the political winds have changed and I expect various Gov'ts to claw back the control Google has on OEMs over the next decade. Whether Google can continue their efforts to ensure a stable Android platform is an open question after that. I can't point to anything specific since I'm rushing this comment, but it should be fairly obvious that Google lets OEMs do things their own way until the dust settles and Google synthesizes the different approaches into the "official" AOSP way. I'm not sure any actual code from OneUI has made it into Android, that would surprise me. Google really likes doing things "their way" in Android. The Android team takes UI inspiration from everyone, but most of their eyeball time is on Apple.

dougmwne 4y ago

An extremely second rate phone platform compared to iOS where the customers don’t spend nearly as much money and they have minimal control over their hardware partners.

seydor 4y ago
.. which owns 80% of the market. Maybe iOS users spend more on hardware & apps but everyone spends money online shopping
adithyassekhar 4y ago
Then linux should be a second rate platform since no one spend enough money and there is zero control over what it runs on. Android is also technically more advanced than anything Apple in pure versatility and user control. Apple execs might get nightmares if someone suggested giving more control to their user. I can stay in the walled garden or play outside with naughty apps and emulators. Android's safety model is not based on restricting what the user can do. Security by obscurity is the least one can do. I understand everyone has a phone choice and some people prefer their phone less sophisticated or less feature rich or more basic. But just because you prefer something so reduced in functionality that it's a waste of the incredible silicon powering it does not mean you can belittle something far more capable. Especially in a developer oriented website.

balls187 4y ago

It does, and funny enough that Antitrust lawsuit against MSFT bundling IE in Windows may end up helping them here.

gspencley 4y ago

Most of Android is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license. So while the word "owns" is true in a technical legal sense, there is nothing to prevent anyone from forking it and doing their own thing. Unlike with GPL code, they don't even need to license their changes under the same license as long as they abide the terms with respects to the original. Personally I use GrapheneOS in order to "de-Google" without switching to the Apple ecosystem. No Google Play (you can install it but I choose not to), FOSS apps only. I don't recommend it for everyone but it made me not hate owning a smart phone for the first time since the "mobile revolution" passed my old grumpy self by.

muyuu 4y ago
I've been looking at it. Ironically, you needed a Google Pixel to run it last I checked, right?
- zirgs 4y ago
  Yup - Google made the best de-googleable phone.
  - dexterdog 4y ago
    They did and I bought a used pixel6 just to switch to graphene. The problem is that the next pixel will likely be much more difficult to do this with because google is going to not not be evil.
    - zirgs 4y ago
      The Pixel 7 is also supported by Graphene OS.
      - dexterdog 4y ago
        I meant the next one to come out. The 7 was already out when I got my 6.
- 4y ago

sebstefan 4y ago

What could they possibly do with that that doesn't violate an anti-trust law?