Google dominates with Android the smartphone market and writes with Android 12 just the next part of the success story. This means that the offshoots must also be updated over time, of which there are more and more. In the smartphone sector, in particular, you have to ask yourself whether the special versions are actually needed or whether these cannot be merged with the main version.
Android began as a smartphone operating system and is still being developed today with the smartphone in mind. But the area of application has been much larger for a long time so that Google has created a whole series of offshoots: Android for smartphones, Android TV for smart TVs and streaming devices, Android Automotive for use in the infotainment area, Wear OS (Android Wear) for smartwatches and not so long ago there was also Android Things.
But that’s not all: Android Go and the brand new Android 12L are now also available for smartphone users. With the offshoots for the completely different device types, you can still understand the step very well, but the now three different smartphone editions seem too much. Android Go, which always appears as an offshoot of the current Android, is mainly aimed at budget smartphones and devices with poor equipment. It is more aimed at the markets where smartphones are bought for an average of 100 to 150 euros.
The intention behind Android 12L doesn’t seem to be very clear yet. Google has described it as “Android for tablets, foldable and Chromebooks – but does it need that? Wasn’t tablet development merged with the smartphone OS a long time ago after just one version (honeycomb)? Aren’t foldable just smartphones too? And do Chromebook apps need their own Android apart from the existing infrastructure?
Too many offshoots?
Google already seems to have problems with properly testing Android and, in the best-case scenario, eliminating problems with the numerous end devices in advance. But the more offshoots you develop, the more extensive it becomes and the longer individual users have to wait for the update. By the time Android 12 arrives at Android TV users, Android 13 will already be in beta. The same applies to Android Automotive. And Wear OS users are so far removed from the smartphone Android that the underlying version is absolutely irrelevant.
The many offshoots and development strands can also be confusing for users. Especially if you have a smartphone with Android 11, Android 12, Android 12L and Android 12 Go to choose from – what should users who are not so deeply involved in the matter reach for? I think that Google could now do without the Go offshoot and that Android 12L has no relevance at all and would not have been necessary as an intermediate step up to Android 13.
The standard Android is broadly based
Android has been concentrating for several years on saving as many resources as possible, conserving the battery, ending background processes and squeezing the last bit out of the hardware. A real distinction to Android 12 Go is hardly recognizable. The difference is made more by the applications, which of course can also be used with normal Android. If you are interested, take a look at the numerous Google Go apps that have the most important basic functions on board and still deliver significantly better performance.
The surface of Android has meanwhile become quite flexible graphically and could certainly be pumped up to the Android 12L sphere without any problems. Personally, I don’t see why it needs its own offshoot. A switch that flips over a certain display size and shows the surface optimized for tablets would certainly have been sufficient. In addition, Android 12L introduces some innovations and fixes problems that only come to normal smartphones with Android 13. A real Android 12.1 would have been the better option instead of creating an offshoot, which will likely appear as Android 13L in 2023.
New launcher instead of new offshoots?
Of course you can see that not all platforms can be operated with the same interface. A smartphone Android on the TV or in the car is neither fun nor useful in any way. However, the “Google TV” attachment was created some time ago for smart TVs. Google TV is based on Android TV, which in turn is based on Android. It would probably be enough if you put the bare Android on the Smart TV and put the Google TV launcher over it. Because there is no really deep connection between Android TV and the device anyway. Would of course also make the update situation much easier.
It looks similar to Android Automotive: Just put an auto launcher on it and you’re done. For the deeper connection to the vehicle, a service running in the background is sufficient and everything else can be controlled via the alternative launcher. Only on the smartwatch does its own platform make sense, which for good reason has not been called “Android” for a long time.
I am fully aware that in this article I am neglecting a lot of the technical basics. But Google created this system itself and in the end it all came together in one place, the AOSP. It is precisely this that could enable standardization. Android, too, has long been a modular system and allows many components to be exchanged (keywords: Treble, Mainline). Perhaps it is time to take full advantage of this strength.