No, AOSP Isn’t Dead—But Google’s Android 16 Launch Has Us Worried

The post No, AOSP Isn’t Dead—But Google’s Android 16 Launch Has Us Worried appeared first on Android Headlines.

Jun 12, 2025 - 21:30

As many of you know, Google started rolling out Android 16 earlier this week. With that launch, Google made a move that fired up speculations AOSP (Android Open Source Project) is going away. Well, that’s not the case. Google just confirmed that AOSP is not going away, but the company’s move the change does impact custom ROMs and its developers.

Google confirms that AOSP isn’t dead, but developing custom ROMs may become a pain

So, what happened, exactly? Well, Google did not release the Pixel hardware repos and devices trees with the Android 16 launch. Those in the know are aware of how important those are to custom ROM developers. That’s actually what fueled the rumors that AOSP is being discontinued.

Custom Android ROM developers need Pixel hardware repos in order to develop their updates. They include device trees, driver binaries, and much more. Without them, well, developing custom ROMs will become extremely difficult. On top of that, this move also impacts security (vulnerability researchers).

Android VP and GM, Seang Chau, has decided to clear the air. He confirmed that “AOSP is NOT going away”, while a Google employee confirmed that the company “remains committed to AOSP updates.”

We’re still not sure if Pixel device trees and hardware repos are coming

He was then asked whether Pixel device trees and hardware repos be coming at some point, but the response did not come just yet. Based on the response from the Android team, we did not get a feeling that this move is permanent. It sure seems like Pixel devices trees, and hardware repos are coming, but there’s still no official confirmation.

Seang Chau added the following: “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.”

If Google does not share Pixel hardware repos and device trees, making custom ROMs will become so difficult that we’ll almost certainly see much less of them. Let’s hope Google will come through.

The post No, AOSP Isn’t Dead—But Google’s Android 16 Launch Has Us Worried appeared first on Android Headlines.