Google really wants to make Android 10 be adopted by as many devices as possible before Android 11 Beta 1 goes live early next year. The company is requiring smartphone manufacturers to launch new devices with Android 10 already baked in after January 31, 2020.
Google is going all “authoritarian” on Android 10. The company is forcing OEMs to adopt Android 10’s gesture navigations instead of their custom gestures. Google is also requiring all new Android phones to ship with Digital Wellbeing.
The company will authorize the use of Google Mobile Services(GMS) for device manufacturers only if they provide a build based on the latest Android 10 for devices set to launch after January 31, 2020.
GMS is basically Google apps package that includes Google Play Store and Services which the Huawei Mate 30 launched without but people have found workarounds that let them install Google services.
This means that smartphone makers will have to keep this in mind as they plan for devices launching next year. It’s a huge win for consumers as you can now get devices running the latest Android operating system and Google stops being ridiculed.
iOS 13 is already installed on more devices than Android 10. pic.twitter.com/5zcPlQFpoO
— ᴺᴼᵀ Jony Ive (@JonyIveParody) September 19, 2019
Consumers will also get timely security and other software updates.
Worth noting, devices can launch with Android Pie after the date if its software was ready before as the GMS documentation says builds must be approved before 31st January.
According to XDA, after 31st January, Google will stop approving smartphones running Android 9 Pie and will only be approving new devices that will ship with Android 10.
However, for devices that won’t be in the pipeline to get Android 10, Google will still approve new software builds based on Android 9 Pie for a short period until August 2020 when Android 11 is set to launch.
The tech giant will then only provide security updates after that.
