Google To Minus Down On Older Versions Of Android

Google is up for reforms in smartphones as it plans to restrict the Android versions. 

Google is rumoured to take a step towards limiting the older versions of Android that are shipping across through new smartphones. It is likely to force smartphone makers to stick with a specific API level and the corresponding OS version. Failing to do so, the makers will not be allowed to ship their hardware with Google services.

Android is practically an outcome of Google's strategy of licensing its open source OS to various manufacturers. For each one phone, the maker can choose which platform version of Android to start with, and further customise it accordingly. They can even use it for any number of smartphones that target various segments of consumer market, with the option to manage updates on its own schedule.

Now due to countless versions of Android being used by consumers all across the world, Google itself is having much mess to handle. The search engine is now basing the move on an information that is supplied in a memo by the Android team to a major Android OEM partners.

As per a report by Android Police, Google will no longer approve GMS distribution on a new Android products that ships older platform releases. Each platform release will have a 'GMS approval window' that typically closes nine months after the next Android platform release is publicly available.

Some six different versions of Android that are running on activated smartphones are 2.2 (Froyo) which is running on 1.3 per cent of phones, 2.3 (Gingerbread) on 20.0 per cent, 3.2 (Honeycomb)on 0.1 per cent, 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) on 16.1 per cent, 4.1 to 4.3 (Jelly Bean) on 60.7 per cent and 4.4 (KitKat) on 1.8 per cent. 

Author : Shivam Kotwalia, CodeKill