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That's not completely true. They can't (feels weird to say "can't" and "mandate" for an open source project) now replace the Google UI, but they certainly can

by Xuzz 15y ago

That's not completely true. They can't (feels weird to say "can't" and "mandate" for an open source project) now replace the Google UI, but they certainly can add their own modifications. (And that's only on 1% of devices, too, running Android 4.0.) Also, while the GPU is now used to accelerate the UI, it is still simply not as smooth. The single-core Nokia Lumia 800 with Windows Phone is noticeably smoother at scrolling than my top-of-the-line Galaxy Nexus was. I'm excited for where Google is going with Android, but it's still not quite there yet.

there 15y ago
They can't (feels weird to say "can't" and "mandate" for an open source project) Open source isn't relevant here because that mandate is for any vendor wanting to distribute Google's proprietary apps (Market, Maps, Gmail, Google account sync, Face unlock, etc.) with their device. Every carrier and hardware vendor except Amazon falls into that category and is going to have to do whatever Google says to continue licensing those apps. Yes, they can continue making their own themes, but unless app developers specifically choose to use it with DeviceDefault, those apps will use the unmodified Halo theme which must now look the same on every device.