Google is fundamentally changing the way it develops future versions of the Android, shifting the process significantly to in-house development branches.
Previously, most of the development on Android was achieved by periodic updates to the public Android Open Source Project (AOSP) repositories. Under the new arrangement, all development on Android will now be taking place within Google's internal infrastructure. These internal branches are available only to Google employees and partner companies with Google Mobile Services (GMS) licenses, such as Samsung and Motorola.
Google explained that the reason for this change is to streamline development workflow and simplify software releases. This is a continuation of a recent trend towards trunk-based development. The company stated how much work it took to maintain synchronization between the internal development branches and public AOSP branches, which would diverge on features and API support. Merging development should rid them of these complexities.
Despite this shift at the stage of active development, Google restated its commitment to open source. It continues to commit itself to publishing the final source code for subsequent Android releases to AOSP upon completion of development and preparation of the version for release, upholding the open-source nature of the finished product.
This change extends to all aspects of Android development. Some technologies, such as Bluetooth and the kernel, will also be developed within the internal system now.
Google will likely announce more about this change to the development process in the near future, with the changes potentially going into effect within a week.
Source: Android Authority
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