With the launch of Android 16 earlier this week, Google did not release the Pixel hardware repos and device trees that are particularly important for custom ROM developers.
On Tuesday, Google released Android 16’s source code to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).
However, the Pixel device trees and other code used to adapt the AOSP release to specific (Made by) Google hardware was not released in a big change from precedent.
Without the Pixel hardware repos (which include the device trees, driver binaries, and more), custom Android ROMs will have a hard time developing their OS updates.
For years, developers have been building Cuttlefish (available on GitHub as the reference device for AOSP) and GSI targets from source.
Google withheld the Pixel hardware repos and device trees, which are crucial for developers of custom ROMs, when Android 16 was released earlier this week. Some began to speculate that “AOSP is being discontinued” as a result. Google has denied that, but it appears that the Pixel change was deliberate.
Google gave the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) access to the source code for Android 16 on Tuesday. Contrary to previous releases, the Pixel device trees and other code that were needed to modify the AOSP release to work with particular Google hardware were not made available.
Custom Android ROMs will struggle to develop their OS updates without the Pixel hardware repos, which contain the device trees, driver binaries, and other components. Researchers who study security vulnerabilities may also be affected by this.
Because of this, some community members conjectured that AOSP was being phased out. Seang Chau, the VP and GM of Android, wrote on Wednesday night that “AOSP is NOT going away” in general. Google has made it clear to developers that it will continue to be “committed to AOSP updates.”. “.”.
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It appears that Pixel device trees will no longer be available based on the Android team’s response. A “reference target” that is “independent of any particular hardware, including those from Google,” is what AOSP hopes to provide in the future. “.”.
AOSP requires an affordable, adaptable, and flexible reference target that is not dependent on any specific hardware, including Google products. For years, developers have been creating GSI targets and Cuttlefish (which is accessible on GitHub as the AOSP reference device) from source. For testing and development, we still make those available.
