Google will not allow OEMs to customize Android Wear, Auto and TV
According to a report from Ars Technica, Google will not allow OEMs to customize the three new flavors of Android it announced last week at I/O: Android Wear, Auto and TV.
According to David Burke, Engineering Director at Google, the UI is a part of the product and they want to deliver a very consistent user experience this time.
The customizations, if any, will be limited to branding and possibly a few services .
“The device manufacturers can brand it, and they might have services that they want to include with it, but otherwise it should be the same.”
However, these customizations will not be big enough to completely replace how the UI look and feels and create fragmentation in similar products from different OEMs.
Right from the advent of Android, Google has always allowed OEMs to customize the OS to their liking, allowing them to add new features and completely change the UI of the OS itself. This has led to a slow update cycle from OEMs, which in turns creates fragmentation, which is widely regarded as one of the biggest weakness of Android.
Google does not want to make the same mistake this time around, and will be directly controlling the software updates of all Android TV, Auto and Wear for a seamless and trouble-free user experience.
- SourceArs Technica