AOSP isn't dead, but Google just landed a huge blow to custom ROM developers
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That was bound to happen at some point. Buying a Google device to then "degoogle" it never sit quite right with me.
Amen but here we are
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TL;DR
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Google has made it harder to build custom Android ROMs for Pixel phones by omitting their device trees and driver binaries from the latest AOSP release.
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The company says this is because it’s shifting its AOSP reference target from Pixel hardware to a virtual device called “Cuttlefish” to be more neutral.
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While Google insists AOSP isn’t going away, developers must now reverse-engineer changes, making the process for supporting Pixel devices more difficult.
Damn, I've just switched to Pixel 3a XL I got for $100 and then installed Evolution OS.
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TL;DR
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Google has made it harder to build custom Android ROMs for Pixel phones by omitting their device trees and driver binaries from the latest AOSP release.
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The company says this is because it’s shifting its AOSP reference target from Pixel hardware to a virtual device called “Cuttlefish” to be more neutral.
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While Google insists AOSP isn’t going away, developers must now reverse-engineer changes, making the process for supporting Pixel devices more difficult.
Long time coming, Play Integrity (or whatever's called nowadays) restrictions have effectively killed any alternative distributions.
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Like, I understand the more the merrier, and so I don't hate on the whole Pixel, ROM development thingy, but I just don't understand the appeal of Pixel phones. If you want to be a photographer, get a camera. Other than that, you really don't need that great of a camera on your phone. Given the condition of America and the police state and corporate surveillance, I don't know why anybody with a damn look of sense would put their information on these major platforms, let alone even on the outskirts. Some people make money on social media, but a lot don't. I stick to my guns and I'm on the internet and computers to learn to educate myself, not to dick around with stupid shit. We need something other than Android. And we have to be weary of open source, especially when it's sponsored by Google. Google is a terrorist organization.
Being weary of open source is like being afraid to eat food that you watched somebody cook for you.
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This would be sad if Pixel phones were worth buying, instead of being far inferior to midrange Motorola devices in battery life and performance while costing well over twice as much.
I mean, you're getting a lot of downvotes, but I've gone Motorola -> Motorola -> Motorola -> Pixel -> Pixel -> Motorola.
Both my Pixels died in less than a year. Each had battery life which, while it did improve over a few weeks as Pixel's optimization stuff took hold, never reached an entire day. Both were unacceptably fragile. Both failed randomly, just out of warranty.
And the Motorola I'm using now has none of those problems, was cheaper, is faster, has a better battery, has a better screen, and in some ways is more customizable (fuck that unmovable search bar).
Like, really. Motorola is a sleeper brand. Not perfect, but damn good.
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You must be ignoring the Motorola bloat that makes it's performance beyond subpar somehow
All of which can be disabled.
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Can we have one of those that fit in my pocket, like 6.5" max ?
There are some 7-8" tablets that could probably fit in a pocket, but finding the perfect mix of Linux compatibility and cell chip is going to be difficult.
However, I see a few Linux tablets out there that have to be all runs, because Linux tablets are a pretty small niche, so it might not be that expensive to build one yourself.
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I mean, you're getting a lot of downvotes, but I've gone Motorola -> Motorola -> Motorola -> Pixel -> Pixel -> Motorola.
Both my Pixels died in less than a year. Each had battery life which, while it did improve over a few weeks as Pixel's optimization stuff took hold, never reached an entire day. Both were unacceptably fragile. Both failed randomly, just out of warranty.
And the Motorola I'm using now has none of those problems, was cheaper, is faster, has a better battery, has a better screen, and in some ways is more customizable (fuck that unmovable search bar).
Like, really. Motorola is a sleeper brand. Not perfect, but damn good.
See? Pixel devices are nothing but a trip to the lemon grove, but people with debilitating chronic ass pain tearfully refuse to accept that they wasted their money on GETBRAND. I take those downvotes as an unofficial census confirming how many people don't know ball.
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This fucking sucks. Cyberpunk dystopia
In cyberpunk dystopia you could buy normal things, just most wasn't it.
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Do you think it may be related to the monopoly issues they are currently facing?
Quite possibly, the GrapheneOS team seems to think so:
GrapheneOS (@GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social)
Google seems to be in the process of splitting up Android and Pixels along with moving towards treating other Android-based platforms as their competitors instead of their partners. Pixels retain first class alternate OS support with Android 16 firmware so it's not about that.
GrapheneOS Mastodon (grapheneos.social)
GrapheneOS (@GrapheneOS@grapheneos.social)
Our speculation about this is that a result of Google losing a US antitrust case and likely losing several more soon, they're preparing for Android and Chrome being split into separate companies. If Android gets split off, they want to retain Pixels. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/technology/google-search-remedies-hearing.html
GrapheneOS Mastodon (grapheneos.social)
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TL;DR
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Google has made it harder to build custom Android ROMs for Pixel phones by omitting their device trees and driver binaries from the latest AOSP release.
-
The company says this is because it’s shifting its AOSP reference target from Pixel hardware to a virtual device called “Cuttlefish” to be more neutral.
-
While Google insists AOSP isn’t going away, developers must now reverse-engineer changes, making the process for supporting Pixel devices more difficult.
huh, look at that. the thing people were warned about when buying pixel phones happened.
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Yeah, I'd totally buy a phone running one of those provided it does all the phone things properly: SMS/MMS, reliable calls, all day battery, etc. I don't need fancy apps, I just need a working phone.
If I can get that, I could probably donate some time porting apps.
It's so crazy (technically understandable, but still crazy) to me that reliably receiving calls is still such a major issue
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Does this mean Graphene is dead? Probably the real reason they would do this is to kill Graphene.
This fits into Google tying Android closer to them, same with the recent move of only making release source publicly available.
They're regretting having started Android as an "open" platform and want to gain control fast, maybe preparing for the current anti-trust trials they are facing in the US.
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TL;DR
-
Google has made it harder to build custom Android ROMs for Pixel phones by omitting their device trees and driver binaries from the latest AOSP release.
-
The company says this is because it’s shifting its AOSP reference target from Pixel hardware to a virtual device called “Cuttlefish” to be more neutral.
-
While Google insists AOSP isn’t going away, developers must now reverse-engineer changes, making the process for supporting Pixel devices more difficult.
I swear to god how many time it has to pass until developers realize open source is just a facade only Free Software licences are free as in freedom
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If Pine64 can spec out a reasonably decent prototype of a phone and Purism can sell theirs for 2 grand (not worth it), then somebody else can legit come out with something just the same. Pine64 project and Purism cannot be the only communities that can somehow come out with these kinds of tech. Better yet, more people should be jumping to help out these guys to be free from Google and Apple dominance.
Teracube just came out with their 3 phone Teracube 2s, and of course there is Fairphone
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huh, look at that. the thing people were warned about when buying pixel phones happened.
I was about to buy one next year… what do you recommend instead?
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I mean, you're getting a lot of downvotes, but I've gone Motorola -> Motorola -> Motorola -> Pixel -> Pixel -> Motorola.
Both my Pixels died in less than a year. Each had battery life which, while it did improve over a few weeks as Pixel's optimization stuff took hold, never reached an entire day. Both were unacceptably fragile. Both failed randomly, just out of warranty.
And the Motorola I'm using now has none of those problems, was cheaper, is faster, has a better battery, has a better screen, and in some ways is more customizable (fuck that unmovable search bar).
Like, really. Motorola is a sleeper brand. Not perfect, but damn good.
Which motorola?
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I agree with you, it's insidious.
Given you've got a Pixel phone, you can save at least yourself from this problem by running Graphene or Calyx on it.
I'm not worried about me. I can manage. But I had to intervene and make it a Project for my immediate family. Which is always unfun, because who wants to expose all their personal data that way, especially photos.
Crazy that Google just screwed over GrapheneOS like this.
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I was about to buy one next year… what do you recommend instead?
fair phone has treated me well enough.
I have a FP4 that runs e/os. won't lie, the software has bugs, but the hardware is pretty solid.
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I swear to god how many time it has to pass until developers realize open source is just a facade only Free Software licences are free as in freedom
Sorry how would have a GPL`d aosp helped here? Google would and could still have not published their drivers for the pixel. You'd need pixel drivers licenced by someone different from google to make them publish their changes to the drivers
