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Android Things Is Google's New OS For Smart Devices (theverge.com)

Posted by msmash on from the things-google-does dept.

Google wants to put Android in the next wave of smart devices that'll be vying to fill up your home. It's launching a version of Android today called Android Things that can run on products like connected speakers, security cameras, and routers. A report adds: The OS is supposed to make it easier for companies to start shipping hardware, since they'll be able to work with the Android dev tools they already know. Android Things is a new name, but the operating system itself isn't strictly new. It's basically an update and a rebranding to Brillo, an Android-based OS for smart devices and Internet of Things products announced a little more than a year and a half ago. Brillo has -- publicly, at least -- gone close to nowhere. It was more or less a no-show at CES last year, and there's been little mention of it since. But today's rebranding marks a key update meant to make developing a product with this operating system much easier. Unlike Brillo, development on Android Things can be accomplished with "the same developer tools as standard Android," according to Google. The hope is that experienced developers will be able to quickly get up to speed and start work on a new product.ArsTechnica has more details.

7 of 30 comments (clear)

  1. pf(common)Sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think I'll be sticking with my pfSense firewall, maybe I'd allow these to run on a segregated network, but I certainly don't want a do-it-all OS to run on IoT devices as well as control the firewall that seems like a recipe for disaster.

    Can you imagine install "apps" on your firewall from the play store ( yes I know there are modules for pfSense but the people using a custom firewall/gateway are probably a little more paranoid than the average user going to the play store for their next random App.

  2. Fantastic! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I, for one, know that when I think "security" and "timely updates" and "product lifecycles long enough for things I'm going to embed in my building"; I think "Android".

    And, when it comes to support and ecosystem consistency for IoT, I think "Google"; because they've earned my trust!

    Seriously guys? I realize that 'IoT' is a garbage fire in a hazmat facility at this point; but adding Android? What are you thinking?

    1. Re:Fantastic! by maestroX · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Yes, Android is Debian/Ubuntu/*BSD/* without maintenance, future support.
      Why is it so hard to get a SIMPLE display server and app store done right?

  3. Why? by Lumpy · · Score: 3, Informative

    we already have embedded linux everywhere and is working just fine.
    And no I dont need "apps" for my security camera.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  4. How long will this be supported, I wonder? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Google seems to be run by a pair of ADHD-afflicted billionaires. Add in the fact that this is unlikely to be much of a money-maker for them, at least in the near term, and you end up with a product that already seems destined to be abandoned in 3-4 years.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:How long will this be supported, I wonder? by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

      I reckon it won't last long enough to get a ui, let alone for them to bugger it up.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  5. They haven't even got the phone thing right by Wokan · · Score: 2

    Google can't be bothered to keep Android working on their flagship devices much past a couple of years and we're supposed to believe they'll keep a device sitting in our homes secure for years to come? I'll pass.