WASHINGTON: After the success of Android 4.4 KitKat, now Google is eyeing to launch another flagship operating system, Android Silver.
Reports earlier this year claims that Silver is going to be a very big deal indeed – and that could be good news for phone fans and a big blow to Samsung.
Silver is a bit like a more advanced Nexus program, but instead of working with one manufacturer on one device, Google will work with multiple firms on multiple devices.
Google supposedly wants to help manufacturers to deliver a premium Android experience, so participating firms will get help from Google with their development and marketing costs, and their devices will get preferential treatment when it comes to software updates.
It should mean a wider choice of high-end Android devices at reasonable prices, and those devices will be free from the bloatware, unwanted apps and over-the-top customization that plagues some firms’ handsets.
That’s because participating firms will have to agree not to mess around with stock Android in much the same way Microsoft’s Signature program banished bloatware from participating PCs.
The devices must “closely adhere to Google specifications” and will “sharply limit the number of non-Google apps that can be pre-installed on devices” or ensure that phone owners will be able to uninstall them.
It also means that you’ll be able to buy handsets without wondering if you’re getting the most up to date version of Android or whether the firm will bother supplying Android updates after a few months.
LG and Motorola have been named as the most likely candidates for initial devices. Others are expected to follow.
We don’t know. The leaks are based around documents from the tail end of last year and the rumors of a new Nexus 10 tablet at this summer’s Google I/O suggest that if the Nexus program is being replaced, it isn’t happening imminently.
Google is already cracking down on the way Android is presented, though: both the HTC One (M8) and Samsung Galaxy S5 boot screens feature the words “powered by Android”.
By limiting what manufacturers do with Android, Google can ensure consistency and quality across devices – something that isn’t always the case at the moment. By working more closely with manufacturers, Google can ensure that SIlver customers get the best possible Android experience.
That sounds sensible enough, but there’s another theory doing the rounds: Silver is anti-Samsung insurance.
Google gives away Android because it wants users’ data and Samsung’s dominance is a threat to that: Samsung’s plans to eventually drop Android are well documented, and if it forks or drops Android that will leave an enormous hole in Google’s data gathering.
By putting the Android brand at the center of multiple firms’ marketing and helping those firms better compete with Samsung, Silver could be an attempt to minimize the damage Samsung could do. If Silver is successful, it might just persuade Samsung to stick with Android for longer.
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