Google Will Now Only Release Android Source Code Twice a Year (androidauthority.com)
(Tuesday January 06, 2026 @10:30PM (BeauHD)
from the change-of-plans dept.)
- Reference: 0180529985
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/01/06/2154225/google-will-now-only-release-android-source-code-twice-a-year
- Source link: https://www.androidauthority.com/aosp-source-code-schedule-3630018/
Google will begin releasing Android Open Source Project (AOSP) source code [1]only twice a year starting in 2026 . "In the past, Google would release the source code for every quarterly Android release, of which there are four each year," notes Android Authority. From the report:
> Google told Android Authority that, effective 2026, Google will publish new source code to AOSP in Q2 and Q4. The reason is to ensure platform stability for the Android ecosystem and better align with Android's trunk-stable development model.
>
> Developers navigating to [2]source.android.com today will see a banner confirming the change that reads as follows: "Effective in 2026, to align with our trunk-stable development model and ensure platform stability for the ecosystem, we will publish source code to AOSP in Q2 and Q4. For building and contributing to AOSP, we recommend utilizing android-latest-release instead of aosp-main. The aosp-latest-release manifest branch will always reference the most recent release pushed to AOSP. For more information, see [3]Changes to AOSP ."
>
> A spokesperson for Google offered some additional context on this decision, stating that it helps simplify development, eliminates the complexity of managing multiple code branches, and allows them to deliver more stable and secure code to Android platform developers. The spokesperson also reiterated that Google's commitment to AOSP is unchanged and that this new release schedule helps the company build a more robust and secure foundation for the Android ecosystem. Finally, Google told us that its process for security patch releases will not change and that the company will keep publishing security patches each month on a dedicated security-only branch for relevant OS releases just as it does today.
[1] https://www.androidauthority.com/aosp-source-code-schedule-3630018/
[2] https://source.android.com/
[3] https://source.android.com/docs/whatsnew/site-updates?year=2025#aosp-changes
> Google told Android Authority that, effective 2026, Google will publish new source code to AOSP in Q2 and Q4. The reason is to ensure platform stability for the Android ecosystem and better align with Android's trunk-stable development model.
>
> Developers navigating to [2]source.android.com today will see a banner confirming the change that reads as follows: "Effective in 2026, to align with our trunk-stable development model and ensure platform stability for the ecosystem, we will publish source code to AOSP in Q2 and Q4. For building and contributing to AOSP, we recommend utilizing android-latest-release instead of aosp-main. The aosp-latest-release manifest branch will always reference the most recent release pushed to AOSP. For more information, see [3]Changes to AOSP ."
>
> A spokesperson for Google offered some additional context on this decision, stating that it helps simplify development, eliminates the complexity of managing multiple code branches, and allows them to deliver more stable and secure code to Android platform developers. The spokesperson also reiterated that Google's commitment to AOSP is unchanged and that this new release schedule helps the company build a more robust and secure foundation for the Android ecosystem. Finally, Google told us that its process for security patch releases will not change and that the company will keep publishing security patches each month on a dedicated security-only branch for relevant OS releases just as it does today.
[1] https://www.androidauthority.com/aosp-source-code-schedule-3630018/
[2] https://source.android.com/
[3] https://source.android.com/docs/whatsnew/site-updates?year=2025#aosp-changes
The walled garden continues (Score:1)
by p51d007 ( 656414 )
Google is slowly going WALLED GARDEN with android. They shouldn't even call it AOSP. Trying to cut back on side loading and on and on. In a couple years, they will be as bad as Apple with their OS.
What does this mean for 3rd party ROMs? (Score:3)
by schwit1 ( 797399 )
[1]Comparison of Android-based Operating Systems [github.io]
[1] https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm
Third way (Score:2)
by dskoll ( 99328 )
We really need a third, open-source alternative to Android and iOS. Sadly, given the secrecy of device makers and the incredible profit of captive stores like the Play Store and the App Store, I can't see this happening. :(
Re: Meanwhile (Score:4, Informative)
Apple actually releases a decent amount of open source code. A lot of it is required by compliance, but other useful projects (like WebKit) are still maintained by them.
Re: (Score:3)
There's an ancient version of Bash that Apple maintains in order to avoid GPL v3. Perhaps that's useful to people who want to make an operating system for their device but don't want to comply with a very common open source license.
Epiphany uses WebKit (Score:3)
[1]GNOME Web (codename Epiphany) [gnome.org], the default web browser of the GNOME desktop environment, uses Apple WebKit. I've seen Apple fans recommend it as a proxy for testing a hobbyist website in macOS without having to buy a $999 MacBook.
[1] https://apps.gnome.org/Epiphany/
Re: (Score:2)
> Apple won't be releasing any source code, just thinking different.
> Disney and Oracle will release the hounds.
Apple is not obliged to release Darwin, as it is BSD licences, yet they do. That in itself is commendable.
As other commenters said, they maintain WebKit (GPLv2). And many smaller browsers live of Apple's webkit.
Other lesser projects abound.
PS1: Ditto with Sonny, they not release the source of the PS5, but contribute A LOT to Upstream xBSD
PS2: Many people at apple and Sone will be watching very closely the Ladybird project. Not because of it being a browser with a new and very strong security foundation, but
Re: (Score:2)
> As other commenters said, they maintain WebKit (GPLv2). And many smaller browsers live of Apple's webkit.
KHTML was actually LGPLv2, not GPLv2. That's why you can have closed source browsers - the WebKit part (or Blink) has to be open-source, but the rest of it doesn't.
Re: (Score:3)
Ever heard of the CUPS project?