Xiaomi does not open the core of the firmware Mi A1, Android community is upset

The Chinese company Xiaomi violates the terms of the GPL 2.0 license of the Linux kernel by not publishing the source code for its latest Mi A1 Android One phone. The company's unwillingness to disclose the source code has already caused discontent among the Andriod community, including the developer of this OS, Francisco Franco.

Under the license terms, the phone developers must publish the source code of the A1 firmware within three months after the phone itself entered the market. But Xiaomi does not do it yet. The same Franco condemned the company's actions by posting several critical posts on his Twitter. In particular, he called what is happening (or rather, not what is happening) an embarrassment to the whole Android OS community.

Franco is very unhappy that companies have the opportunity to use the software for their own purposes, in particular, to create commercial products without the need to fulfill their own promises, or rather, commitments.
')
So far, the company, whose headquarters is located in Beijing, China, does not respond to criticism, so Xiaomi's intentions are unclear. Franco calls on Google to make Xiaomi fulfill its obligations. As far as can be judged, the words of Franco do not mean much to the Chinese, since this is not the first time when obligations are not fulfilled. In particular, in order to lay out the source of its firmware for the previous flagships, the Mi 6 and Mi 5 Chinese company took six months. Actually, the only phone model where the deadlines for publishing the source code were respected are Mi Mix 2.

The Free Software Foundation, which is responsible for fulfilling the terms of the GNU General Public License, can theoretically sue Xiaomi. The reason is the already mentioned delay in the publication of the source code. However, this is unlikely to happen soon. But if this happens, the problem can have a strong influence on the operation of the company. In China, A1 phones have both been sold and will be sold. But in other countries (and there are more than 40) sales may be canceled. One of these markets is India, where Chinese smartphones are recognized and buyers.


Android specialists, in particular, those who develop custom firmware, Xiaomi’s unwillingness to upload source codes causes known difficulties. In particular, no one has yet released a custom firmware for the named phone model, since so far there are no possibilities for this. Craftsmen who add overclocking to the functions of custom firmware, charge saving function or control over the processor can not be made from the named one until the firmware is released.

A1 characteristics

Announcement: 2017, September
Networks: GSM / CDMA / HSPA / LTE
- 2G GSM 850/900/1800/1900 - SIM 1 and SIM 2
- 3G HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100
- 4G LTE band 1 (2100), 3 (1800), 5 (850), 7 (2600), 8 (900), 34 (2000), 38 (2600), 39 (1900), 40 (2300), 41 (2500)
Bluetooth: 4.2, A2DP, LE
Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, access point
Dimensions: 155.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm (6.12 x 2.98 x 0.29 inches)
Weight: 165 g (5.82 oz)
Rechargeable battery: Non-removable, Li-Ion 3080 mAh
Display: 5.5 inches, resolution 1080 x 1920 pixels (~ 403 ppi)
Processor: Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625
- Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 processor frequency
- graphics Adreno 506
Memory: 64 GB, 4 GB operational
USB: 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversing connector
Camera: Main Dual 12 MP (26mm, f / 2.2; 50mm, f / 2.6), phase autofocus, 2x optical zoom, dual-LED (dual tone) flash
- frontal 5 MP, 1080p
Operating system: Android 7.1.2 (Nougat)

By the way, A1 is one of the first Xiaomi models that received full support from Google. The company believes that a phone with a “clean” stock android can best meet the standards of fast and productive phones. Xiaomi company itself understands that the phone was successful, so she tries to distribute her smartphone in as many countries as possible.

The most popular A1 in China and India, although the device is sold in many other countries. In the US, for example, you can buy it on Amazon.

So far, it is unclear how Google will respond, if at all.