Google has broken with years of tradition by not releasing the Pixel hardware repositories alongside this week’s Android 16 source code. The move has left custom ROM creators scratching their heads and scrambling to adjust their plans.
Tuesday saw Google push Android 16’s source code to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) as expected, but something crucial was missing. The Pixel device trees and hardware-specific code that developers typically rely on were nowhere to be found—a departure from how Google has handled previous Android releases.
For the average smartphone user, this might seem like technical minutiae, but it represents a serious headache for the community of developers who build custom Android versions. Without these hardware repositories – which include device trees, driver binaries, and related components – creating custom ROMs becomes far more challenging, potentially affecting everything from feature development to security research.
When rumours began swirling about AOSP’s future, Seang Chau, Google’s VP and General Manager of Android Platform, took to X to pour cold water on the most dramatic claims.
“We’re seeing some speculation that AOSP is being discontinued. To be clear, AOSP is NOT going away. AOSP was built on the foundation of being an open platform for device implementations, SoC vendors, and instruction set architectures,” Chau wrote.
“AOSP needs a reference target that is flexible, configurable, and affordable – independent of any particular hardware, including those from Google. For years, developers have been building Cuttlefish (available on GitHub as the reference device for AOSP) and GSI targets from source. We continue to make those available for testing and development purposes.”
Reading between the lines, though, it seems Google’s decision to withhold the Pixel-specific code wasn’t an oversight but a deliberate change in approach.
The privacy-focused ROM developer GrapheneOS has been particularly vocal about the impact, having invested months preparing for Android 16’s arrival.
“We did far more preparation for Android 16 than we’ve ever done for any previous yearly release,” the GrapheneOS team explained on X. “Since we weren’t able to obtain OEM partner access, we did extensive reverse engineering of the upcoming changes.”
Despite this preparation, GrapheneOS now faces unexpected hurdles: “Unfortunately, Android has made changes which will make it much harder for us to port to Android 16 and future releases. It will also make adding support for new Pixels much more difficult.”
The timing hasn’t escaped notice, with GrapheneOS suggesting the move might be connected to Google’s legal troubles. “Google is in the process of losing multiple antitrust cases in the US. Android and Chrome being split into separate companies has been requested by the DOJ. They may be preparing for it.”
It’s a theory that makes some sense. If Google were forced to split its business, keeping tighter control of Pixel-specific code could help maintain an advantage for its hardware division while still technically complying with open-source requirements for the core Android platform.
“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,” GrapheneOS speculated.
Despite these obstacles, developers aren’t giving up. GrapheneOS reported they already have early Android 16 builds running in emulators, though the path to supporting actual devices has become considerably more rocky than anticipated.
For the wider Android community, Google’s move raises uncomfortable questions about the future of the platform’s open-source nature. While Android itself remains open, the practical ability of independent developers to adapt it for specific hardware may be diminishing.
This shift could potentially limit user choice in the long run. Many rely on custom ROMs to extend the life of devices abandoned by manufacturers or to access more privacy-focused Android variants. If building these alternatives becomes substantially more difficult, the practical openness of the Android ecosystem could suffer.
Google finds itself walking a tightrope as it attempts to balance its commercial interests in Pixel hardware against its role as the steward of the world’s most widely-used mobile operating system. With regulators already scrutinising the company’s market power, how Google navigates this tension will face growing attention.
(Photo by Samuel Angor)
See also: Apple to open its garden for developers building Watch widgets
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