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Google takes control of Android. Changes in the program Google Nexus

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November is inexorably approaching, and with it the new iteration of the Google Nexus smartphones. The iPhone 5 barely got off and the passion around Apple Maps subsided, as IT publications began to intensively collect bits of information about search engine smartphones, which will become new reference devices for developers under the Android platform, as well as enthusiasts who want to portray something exotic like Open webOS on a smartphone with an open loader and well documented hardware specifications. The closer to the release, the more information, both about smartphones and about the Nexus program.
Disclaimer : The article has few pictures, a lot of letters, a lot of rumors, both confirmed and not so much.

Google Nexus - Program Changes


According to insiders from the Open Handset Alliance, Google significantly changed the conditions of the Nexus program, according to which various manufacturers had the opportunity, together with the search giant, to release a device with a system implemented according to the canons of Google (as they say - stock Android). According to the old scheme, only four manufacturers managed to use this program: HTC (Google Nexus One), Samsung (Google Nexus S, Samsung Galaxy Nexus), Motorola (Motorola Xoom) * and ASUS (ASUS Nexus 7). Other manufacturers simply could not work with an Internet company due to the fact that Google chose only one partner for its device. These companies could make an Android device without additional modifications of the functionality and interface, but without the Nexus brand and Google marketing support, no one wanted to do this in most cases.

Now, Google has opened the Nexus program for all manufacturers, presenting a set of requirements that the manufacturer must fulfill in order to use the Nexus brand in the name of its device. Exact requirements are not yet available to the public, except for the fact that manufacturers are obliged to use Android from the sources of the Android Open Source Project, to undergo Android Compatibility Tests, and also to reserve 64 MB of protected memory for streaming media content. Nevertheless, Google will not prohibit manufacturers to use their shell, but the requirements are made to them. Apparently, manufacturers will receive conditions similar to the conditions of Microsoft. These shells will be turned off by default, but the manufacturer will be able to place their applications, shells and other services in a special section of the Google Play Store, which will be shown to owners of a particular device. However, implementation details have not yet been disclosed.

In addition, Google has special requirements for the hardware that it is guaranteed to support Android 5.0, which will be released by the end of 2013. Google has no specific hardware platform requirements. Apparently, manufacturers will be able to use any SoC from the pool of OHA manufacturers (at the moment - NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, ST-Ericsson, Samsung SC, Mediatek, MIPS Technologies and Intel) with the obligatory presence of an NFC chip (Google Wallet). Most likely, the same requirements for special certification will be presented to chip manufacturers so that there are no difficulties in porting the system between different architectures (ARM, MIPS, x86).
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If the manufacturer is not satisfied with the requirements of Google for Nexus, then they will be able to make devices for Play certification, which significantly expands the range of manufacturers' initiative due to more liberal requirements. Who is not satisfied with the requirements of Google, they will be able to continue to use the achievements of AOSP.

Google Nexus - devices


Rumors in this section have time to begin to contradict each other within one hour. Today it is known that Google is working most closely with LG on the release of the new Nexus, which will become the flagship until the release of the new version of Android. I have information about vendors in order of availability of information and its completeness.

LG

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LG Optimus G - the current flagship of the company and the basis for the Nexus
The Korean corporation is famous for very good hardware, beautiful screens and sometimes a suitable design, but in terms of LG software, people either lack the code to write and design interfaces, or the qualifications of employees are not the highest. Therefore, the company's android phones are obtained, to put it mildly, not very. This is where Google comes to the rescue, which takes over the software, leaving the Koreans to use their hardware - hardware. And according to a number of publications, Google has already started distributing smartphones to employees for extended internal testing, which has already leaked some data that speaks about the advancement of the smartphone, albeit with some oddities:

As you can see, according to specifications like all flagships flagship, but non-expandable memory and funny 16 GB of internal maximum - do not enter any gate. It remains to hope that Google will have time to hear whining in social networks about this, otherwise it is one of the strangest smartphones it turns out.

Samsung


With Samsung, the guys from Mountain View are also working. Koreans do not build on the flagship. The new smartphone will be artlessly called the Samsung Galaxy Nexus II. Apparently, this is an improvement last year's hit with a slight update of the characteristics. Most likely, only SoC will change from TI OMAP 4460 (2xCortex-A9@1.2GHz, PowerVR SGX540MP1) to 4470 (2xCortex-A9@1.5GHz, 2xCortex-M3 at an unknown frequency, PowerVR SGX544MP1). Everything else will remain at the level. It is likely that this will be a model of either a budget segment or an average one. There are questions to the screen and the battery, whose characteristics are unknown.

Motorola


According to Motorola, so far, apart from the wave of layoffs, the cancellation of updates and the slurred new line of RAZR, nothing is clear at all and one cannot say from the side that this is a “daughter” of Google. But information has leaked out about the Motorola RAZR Nexus, which is being developed on a new Intel chip. Apparently, Google makes a serious bet on cooperation with Intel. Well, Nokia has not really helped this collaboration, let's see what will happen to Motorola. According to the insider information, the smartphone will have a dual-core processor at a frequency of 2 GHz using Hyper-Threading technology, as well as a PowerVR SGX544MP2 video accelerator. According to the characteristics of this is a serious application, but what happens in practice is unknown.

HTC


According to the Spanish workers Vodafone in the internal documents listed some HTC NEXUS, but nothing is known about him, except that it is a five-inch shovel with a 1080p-screen. Everything.

Sony


And here it is very tight with information. NTT DoCoMo reports that they are waiting for the delivery of Sony Xperia Nexus in winter. Characteristics unknown. At all.

operating system


No matter how strange it may sound, but all Google Nexus will come with Android OS (unexpectedly, right?). Most likely, the system will receive a serial number 4.2, since it has been less than six months since the release of Jelly Bean and it is impossible to come up with and implement some kind of killer feature, despite Google resources. The dessert will be called Key Lime Pie. Among the innovations, there is support for an expanded number of equipment, including Miracast, support for multi-user mode with limited rights, improvements to Project Butter, some changes to the user interface, as well as Project Roadrunner ***, which supposedly greatly increases the battery life. According to one of the employees of Google, the system interface will differ little from Jelly Bean, that is, Mathias Duarte continues to develop the Holo UI concept, starting to work on it with Android 3.0 Honeycomb after leaving Hewlett-Packard.
The official release of the system will most likely take place in November, but according to some data, Google’s mobile unit manager Andy Rubin intends to appear at the All Things Digital conference with Optimus (G) Nexus in October.

release date


There are a lot of questions. AT & T hints that the LG Optimus (G) Nexus will be available in mid-November, which indicates that Google is not going to feed people with breakfasts and promises, giving presentations months before the smartphone is released, but is preparing to announce a device that is ready for sale (a good tradition of Apple, I must say). According to some reports, the release in November will see both the Samsung Galaxy Nexus II and the Sony Xperia Nexus. A number of sources claim that the launch of the new Android will be global. Google hopes to use the logistics of each OEM to bring devices to markets as quickly as possible where each partner has the best connections. So, it is quite likely that we will see Key Lime Pie in Russia / Ukraine already this year, thanks to good Samsung logistics.
As for HTC, rumors claim that the device will be launched in December. What is the reason for the delay is unknown, but Taiwanese want to be in time for the holiday season.
Motorola is likely to enter the market only in 2013 in the winter. This is due to the fact that the new Intel chip is not yet ready.

One Google To Rule Them All


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Looking at all this news, I’m glad that Google takes the wheel into its own hands without compromising the freedom of Android. That is, on the one hand, the search engine is increasing its pressure on the lazy OEMs, who only give vent to, so they would not update the devices for new versions of Android, so they would not release bug fixes in the firmware. On the other hand, Google continues to keep the Android operating system free for the community, and also insists on the policy that the Nexus device loader should be open (or at least be available for unlocking), and the SoC drivers should be available to all enthusiasts whenever possible. to create alternative firmware.

You also need to pay tribute to Microsoft. It seems that they, apparently, gave Google a good kick in the direction of working with OEMs, showing Windows Phone how the devices should be updated, and how vendors should be given to modify the distribution (apparently, Google wants to copy the hubs policy in the Marketplace). Google kick, apparently, felt well, just as it moved. At the same time, despite the periodic occurrence of the hotly beloved antiquities RMS from the Free Software Foundation, kicking Android for various reasons, Google does not lock users and OEMs into a hard vendor lock-in. That is why users can enjoy Amazon services in a special version of Android, as well as with some other ecosystems (for example, Ali Cloud in Aliyun OS); and Android is becoming a full-fledged embedded system for microwaves, refrigerators, cameras, and damn it, NASA satellites and some other ... ahem ... things . I am very sorry that Nokia could not become such a Google with its Symbian Foundation and the Maemo / MeeGo project, because these operating systems could be an aid to this development of open operating systems. But what happened was already not fixed, and Nokia chose a different path for a number of objective and not-so-good reasons.

I should also say thanks to the government of China, which knocked out of Google a guarantee when it acquired Motorola, that the development of Android under the open scheme will last at least five years. This is excellent information for everyone, ranging from schoolboy Vasya, putting AOKP on his phone, and for research centers commanding satellites into orbit.

Summing up, it should be noted that Android has a lot of problems, ranging from UX-problems (which Duarte honestly admits, stating that Android has gone only a third of the way towards the Mathias ideal) and ending with patent proceedings, but if Google succeeds in resolving the problems, The Open Handset Alliance and the Android Open Source Project can become the third (most important) free project after the Linux Foundation and the Wikimedia Foundation.

Sources




* Motorola Xoom does not have a Nexus branding, but nevertheless it is currently being updated on a par with other Nexus devices.
** LG during the presentation of Optimus G mentioned that there will be a special version of the smartphone with 8 MPiks instead of 13 MPiks, but it will have all the other characteristics. Regarding stabilization, Koreans mention a technology that takes into account the data of position sensors in space for the position of the optics and the selection of the best shooting moment. Judging by the description, it looks like optical stabilization, but if they didn’t call it that, then maybe it’s not her.
*** According to information from October 8th, the rumor about Roadrunner was disinformation. Even if there are improvements in energy consumption, there is no separate project.

PS Please forgive some jokes and taunts in the direction of Android, but during the communication with this system I had a strong ironic attitude, which nevertheless is very friendly :)

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/153779/

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