Exclusive: Google will develop the Android OS fully in private, and here’s why
独家报道：谷歌将完全在私下里开发 Android 操作系统，原因如下
Android OS development will now fully happen behind closed doors, but Google says it’s committed to releasing source code
Android 操作系统的开发现在将完全闭门进行，但谷歌表示，它致力于发布源代码
- Google has confirmed to Android Authority that development of the Android operating system will soon fully happen in private.
谷歌已经向 Android Authority 证实，Android 操作系统的开发将很快完全在私下进行。 - Currently, Google shares some of the work it does on the public AOSP Gerrit, but moving forward, this work will all be done in private.
目前，Google 分享了其在公开 AOSP Gerrit 上所做的一些工作，但展望未来，这些工作将全部在私下完成。 - The goal for this privatization is to simplify Android OS development and not to hinder external developers, which is why Google remains committed to publishing source code to AOSP after each release.
私有化的目的是简化 Android 操作系统的开发，而不是阻碍外部开发人员，这就是为什么谷歌仍然致力于在每次发布后将源代码发布到 AOSP。
No matter the manufacturer, every Android phone has one thing in common: its software base. Manufacturers can heavily customize the look and feel of the Android OS they ship on their Android devices, but under the hood, the core system functionality is derived from the same open-source foundation: the Android Open Source Project. After over 16 years, Google is making big changes to how it develops the open source version of Android in an effort to streamline its development.
无论是哪个制造商，每一款 Android 手机都有一个共同点：它的软件基础。制造商可以在 Android 设备上大量定制 Android 操作系统的外观和感觉，但在幕后，核心系统功能来自同一个开源基础：Android 开源项目。经过 16 年多的时间，谷歌正在对其开发 Android 开源版本的方式进行重大改变，以简化其开发。
The Android Open Source Project, or AOSP for short, is an operating system that Google releases under the Apache 2.0 License. Apache 2.0 is a software license that allows anyone to use, distribute, or modify and distribute operating systems based on AOSP without the need to pay any licensing fees or release source code. This permissive licensing structure has facilitated the widespread adoption of AOSP, leading to the creation of customized forks like Samsung’s One UI.
Android Open Source Project，简称 AOSP，是 Google 在 Apache 2.0 许可证下发布的操作系统。Apache 2.0 是一个软件许可证，允许任何人使用、分发或修改和分发基于 AOSP 的操作系统，而无需支付任何许可费或发布源代码。这种宽松的许可结构促进了 AOSP 的广泛采用，导致了像三星 One UI 这样的定制分叉的创建。
Like many other open-source projects, AOSP accepts code contributions from third-party developers. However, Google conducts most AOSP development itself, as it “treats the Android project as a full-scale product development operation” to “ensure the vitality of Android as a platform and as an open-source project.” Therefore, Google has the final say on what code can be merged into AOSP and when new version source code is released. The company develops AOSP components privately to allow “developers and OEMs to use a single version [of Android] without tracking unfinished future work just to keep up.”
与许多其他开源项目一样，AOSP 接受第三方开发人员的代码贡献。然而， 谷歌自己进行了大部分 AOSP 开发，因为它“将 Android 项目视为一个全面的产品开发操作”，以“确保 Android 作为一个平台和开源项目的生命力”。因此，Google 对哪些代码可以合并到 AOSP 以及何时发布新版本源代码拥有最终决定权。公司私下开发 AOSP 组件，以允许 “开发人员和 OEM 使用单一版本（Android），而无需跟踪未完成的未来工作，以便跟上进度。
To balance AOSP’s open nature with its product development strategy, Google maintains two primary Android branches: the public AOSP branch and its internal development branch. The AOSP branch is accessible to anyone, while Google’s internal branch is restricted to companies with a Google Mobile Services (GMS) licensing agreement.
为了平衡 AOSP 的开放性与其产品开发策略，Google 维护了两个主要的 Android 分支：公共 AOSP 分支和内部开发分支。AOSP 的分支对任何人都是开放的，而谷歌的内部分支仅限于与谷歌移动的服务（GMS） 许可协议的公司。
While some OS components, such as Android’s Bluetooth stack, are developed publicly in the AOSP branch, most components, including the core Android OS framework, are developed privately within Google’s internal branch. Google confirmed to Android Authority that it will soon shift all Android OS development to its internal branch, a change intended to streamline its development process.
虽然某些操作系统组件（如 Android 的蓝牙堆栈）是在 AOSP 分支中公开开发的，但大多数组件（包括核心 Android 操作系统框架）都是在 Google 的内部分支中私下开发的。谷歌向 Android Authority 证实，它将很快将所有 Android 系统开发转移到其内部分支，这一变化意在简化其开发流程。
To simplify Android OS development, Google will no longer have two ‘main’ branches
为了简化 Android OS 开发，谷歌将不再有两个“主要”分支
Because Google develops large portions of Android in its internal branch, the public AOSP branch often lags far behind what’s available privately. This difference is apparent when comparing feature and API availability between a clean AOSP build and Google’s latest Android 16 beta, which was built from its internal branch. While the shift to trunk-based development reduced this discrepancy, it persists and continues to pose challenges for Google.
由于 Google 在其内部分支中开发了 Android 的大部分内容，因此公共 AOSP 分支通常远远落后于私有 AOSP。当比较一个干净的 AOSP 构建和谷歌最新的 Android 16 测试版之间的功能和 API 可用性时，这种差异是显而易见的，后者是从其内部分支构建的。虽然转向基于主干的开发减少了这种差异，但它仍然存在，并继续给谷歌带来挑战。
This discrepancy forces Google to spend time and effort merging patches between the public AOSP branch and its internal branch. Due to how different the branches are, merge conflicts often arise. Take for example this patch that enables screen magnifier functionality for the navigation bar and keyboard. The patch introduces a new accessibility setting, which is placed at the end of the list of accessibility settings. This creates a merge conflict as the list’s length varies between AOSP and Google’s internal branch. While a fix for this specific issue is straightforward, numerous other AOSP patches trigger similar merge conflicts when integrated into Google’s internal branch.
这种差异迫使 Google 花费时间和精力在公共 AOSP 分支和其内部分支之间合并补丁。由于分支的不同，合并冲突经常出现。以这个补丁为例，它为导航栏和键盘启用了屏幕放大镜功能。该补丁（或修复）引入了一个新的辅助功能设置，该设置位于辅助功能设置列表的末尾。由于 AOSP 和 Google 内部分支之间的列表长度不同，因此会产生合并冲突。虽然这个特定问题的修复很简单，但许多其他 AOSP 补丁在集成到 Google 内部分支时会引发类似的合并冲突。
There are likely countless examples of merge conflicts like this, which is why Google is doing away with its current two-pronged Android development strategy and instead shifting all development internally.
像这样的合并冲突可能有无数的例子，这就是为什么谷歌正在放弃其目前的双管齐下的 Android 开发战略，而是将所有开发转移到内部。
What does this mean for us?
这对我们意味着什么？
Google confirmed to Android Authority that it is committed to publishing Android’s source code, so this change doesn’t mean that Android is becoming closed-source. The company will continue to publish the source code for new Android releases, so when Google releases Android 16 later this year, we’ll get the source code for the update. In addition, Google will continue to publish the source code for Android’s Linux kernel fork, as it is licensed under GPLv2, which mandates source code releases, and is separate from AOSP.
谷歌向 Android Authority 证实，它致力于发布 Android 的源代码，因此这一变化并不意味着 Android 正在成为闭源 。该公司将继续发布新 Android 版本的源代码，因此当 Google 在今年晚些时候发布 Android 16 时，我们将获得更新的源代码。此外，谷歌将继续发布 Android Linux 内核分支的源代码，因为它是根据 GPL v2 授权的，该授权要求发布源代码，并且与 AOSP 分开。
What will change is the frequency of public source code releases for specific Android components. Some components like the build system, update engine, Bluetooth stack, Virtualization framework, and SELinux configuration are currently AOSP-first, meaning they’re developed fully in public. Most Android components like the core OS framework are primarily developed internally, although some features, such as the unlocked-only storage area API, are still developed within AOSP.
改变的是特定 Android 组件的公开源代码发布频率。一些组件，如构建系统、更新引擎、蓝牙堆栈、虚拟化框架和 SELinux 配置，目前是 AOSP 优先的，这意味着它们是完全公开开发的。大多数 Android 组件（如核心 OS 框架）主要是在内部开发的，尽管某些功能（如仅解锁存储区 API）仍然在 AOSP 中开发。
Beginning next week, all Android development will occur within Google’s internal branches, and the source code for changes will only be released when Google publishes a new branch containing those changes. As this is already the practice for most Android component changes, Google is simply consolidating its development efforts into a single branch.
从下周开始，所有的 Android 开发都将在谷歌的内部分支中进行 ， 只有当谷歌发布一个包含这些更改的新分支时，才会发布更改的源代码 。由于这已经是大多数 Android 组件更改的实践，Google 只是将其开发工作整合到一个分支中。
This change will have minimal impact on regular users. While it streamlines Android OS development for Google, potentially affecting the speed of new version development and bug reduction, the overall effect will likely be imperceptible. Therefore, don’t expect this change to accelerate OS updates for your phone.
这一变化对普通用户的影响很小。虽然它简化了 Google 的 Android 操作系统开发，可能会影响新版本开发和错误减少的速度，但整体效果可能难以察觉。因此，不要指望这一变化会加速手机的操作系统更新。
This change will also have minimal impact on most developers. App developers are unaffected, as it pertains only to platform development. Platform developers, including those who build custom ROMs, will largely also see little change, since they typically base their work on specific tags or release branches, not the main AOSP branch. Similarly, companies that release forked AOSP products rarely use the main AOSP branch due to its inherent instability.
这一变化对大多数开发人员的影响也很小。应用程序开发人员不受影响，因为它只涉及平台开发。平台开发人员，包括那些构建自定义 ROM 的开发人员，基本上也不会看到什么变化，因为他们的工作通常基于特定的标签或发布分支，而不是主要的 AOSP 分支。类似地，发布分支 AOSP 产品的公司很少使用主 AOSP 分支，因为它固有的不稳定性。
LineageOS 22.2 is based on the AOSP android-15.0.0_r20 release tag, which contains the latest changes in the March 2025 quarterly release.
LineageOS 22.2 基于 AOSP android-15.0.0_r20 发布标签，其中包含 2025 年 3 月季度发布中的最新更改。
External developers who enjoy reading or contributing to AOSP will likely be dismayed by this news, as it reduces their insight into Google’s development efforts. Without a GMS license, contributing to Android OS development becomes more challenging, as the available code will consistently lag behind by weeks or months. This news will also make it more challenging for some developers to keep up with new Android platform changes, as they’ll no longer be able to track changes in AOSP.
喜欢阅读或为 AOSP 做贡献的外部开发人员可能会对这个消息感到沮丧，因为它减少了他们对 Google 开发工作的了解。如果没有 GMS 许可证（华为也没），为 Android 操作系统开发做出贡献将变得更具挑战性，因为可用代码将持续滞后数周或数月。这一消息也将使一些开发人员跟上新的 Android 平台变化变得更具挑战性，因为他们将不再能够跟踪 AOSP 中的变化。
For reporters, this change means less access to potentially revealing information, as AOSP patches often provide insights into Google’s development plans. For instance, a code change I spotted in AOSP revealed the Pixel’s webcam feature months before its official release. Similarly, I used hints in AOSP to deduce Android 16’s earlier release date, while a now-deleted code change I spotted last week gave us our first public mention of the upcoming Google Pixel 10. While these types of leaks likely did not trigger this change, it will undoubtedly affect our ability to report on upcoming Android features and devices.
对于记者来说，这一变化意味着更少的揭示信息，因为 AOSP 补丁通常提供对谷歌发展计划的见解。例如，我在 AOSP 中发现的一个代码更改在 Pixel 正式发布前几个月就揭示了它的网络摄像头功能 。同样，我使用 AOSP 中的提示来推断 Android 16 的早期发布日期，而我上周发现的一个现已删除的代码更改让我们首次公开提及即将推出的 Google Pixel 10。虽然这些类型的泄漏可能不会引发这一变化，但它无疑会影响我们报告即将推出的 Android 功能和设备的能力。
Ultimately, I think this change makes sense, even if the optics look bad for Google. Google had three options here: Maintain the status quo, shift all development internally, or make all development public. Considering Google’s stated rationale for private Android development and its recent transition to trunk-based development, its decision to consolidate work under a single, internal branch, streamlining both OS development and source code releases, is understandable.
最终，我认为这种变化是有意义的，即使谷歌的光学看起来很糟糕。谷歌有三个选择：维持现状，内部转移所有开发，或者公开所有开发。考虑到谷歌声明的 Android 私有开发的理由以及最近向基于集群的开发的过渡，它决定将工作合并到一个单一的内部分支，简化操作系统开发和源代码发布，这是可以理解的。