The source code for Android 16 is now available, but OEMs like Samsung and Xiaomi have already had early access. Here's what that means.

Google makes Android development private, will continue open source releases Google says this change will simplify things for developers and OEMs.

I thought about reverse engineering. ' TikTok noticed that the reverse-engineered source code was released on GitHub, and applied for deletion to GitHub based on the DMCA.

Google has denied that, but the Pixel change does look to be intentional. On Tuesday, Google released Android 16’s source code to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

The goal for this privatization is to simplify Android OS development and not to hinder external developers, which is why Google remains committed to publishing source code to AOSP after each release.