Google has confirmed there will be two code dumps to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) per year, down from the four developers have become accustomed to.

The announcement was made on the Android Open Source Project's home page: "Effective in 2026, to align with our trunk stable development model and ensure platform stability for the ecosystem, we will publish source code to AOSP in Q2 and Q4."

The closed Android operating system has historically had a quarterly update cadence, which was followed by code drops for AOSP. Security updates will continue to be more frequent.

A Google spokesperson told The Register: "We are focusing our resources on fewer, more comprehensive releases. This change simplifies development, gets rid of the complexity of managing multiple code branches, and allows us to deliver more stable and secure code to the AOSP community.

"Our commitment to AOSP is unchanged. This new process helps us build a more robust and secure foundation for the entire Android ecosystem, ensuring AOSP remains a strong, open platform for the future."

While the slowdown will present a headache for developers and anyone building an operating system compatible with Android applications, the general consensus is that it signals a shift away from the project's original ethos toward a more restrictive approach.

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One open source expert told The Reg: "De-Googled Android is actually becoming fairly good and usable." He also noted there are viable non-Android phone operating systems, such as FuriOS, "so it's trying to gradually make life more difficult for the third-party OS vendors and rebuilders."

Another software engineer told us: "Very few devs are trying to build a mobile OS. I think from a dev perspective the F-Droid stuff is more on point as it impacts freedom to install what you like on Android."

In September 2025, the F-Droid project, which distributes open source Android applications, warned it would be at risk if Google enforced planned developer registration requirements for app installation - a system incompatible with F-Droid's model.

Google has said it remains committed to the AOSP project. However, the slow drip of changes may make some developers think otherwise. ®