Happy weekend!
You might have noticed that !android@lemdro.id has reached 15K subscribers, with over 400 active visitors per week!
With the release of Android 14, which is slowly making its way to more devices, it seems like a good time for a community discussion on the direction of Android development.
Discussion Questions:
- What do you think about this latest release?
- Do you think things are going in the right direction?
- Is there anything you’d like to see prioritized in future releases?
- Which device are you on?
P.S. Subscribe to !askandroid@lemdro.id if you haven’t already. It’s the best place to ask questions, seek advice, or to help steer others in the right direction for all things related to Android.
I don’t know what opinion to form. The openness of Android is constantly abused, but Google seems to be overcorrecting by locking it down more than iOS in certain cases and reducing choices for users to use/customize their device as they like. I can’t backup my damn Minecraft worlds without paying Microsoft $4/month for a server to act as an intermediary, or I have to download an unvetted third-party Minecraft addon. On iOS, the “walled garden”, you can use the Files app or connect to your computer and backup.
Would decoupling Android from Google help Android’s long-term future? Let some non-profit organization with different goals take over? With that said, it’ll be a big challenge for them to figure out licensing, funding, development, etc.
I’m on a Pixel 6a running Android 14. Material You has grown on me. I still dislike gesture navigation. Would love to see more lockscreen customization.
I get where Google is coming from by seizing control from vendors under threat of losing access to Play Services. I generally feel positive about those specific changes because I’m not a fan of vendor-specific implementations to solve common problems. Nearby Share, for example, is a great idea that only works if everyone’s using a compatible solution.
However, openness and customization is part of what makes Android great. The ROM community is under the SafetyNet gun where Google could pull the trigger at any moment and effectively lock out unapproved operating systems from running many applications. Google overstepping further hardly makes the news.
I’m concerned, because if you look at this problem from a vendor point of view, who else can you go to? You need a thriving ecosystem to make your phone attractive. There’s a high ceiling on the maximum pain Google could inflict before the bottom falls out.
Android is precariously positioned.