difference between android and linux?

[vanja]

Hi all, regarding the general narrative here around android, it seems like everyone thinks android is some closed source software...well, it's not. there is no google  in AOSP

What is in your opinion the difference between running GloDroid and Ubuntu on pinephone? Glodroid is also open sourced system that uses linux kernel, called android.

Basically, android is a linux derivative specialized for mobile devices.
To me, saying android bad, linux good  sounds like people who say Linux is crap, unix is the best. FreeBSD is the only OS for real men, forget about linux.

[wibble]

That there are varying definitions of 'android' doesn't help the discussion. Google's position seems to vary depending on the state of lawsuits and antitrust action. The problem with GloDroid (or other AOSP derivatives) for the pinephone is the incomplete HAL.

[zetabeta]

this is my opinionated rant!

technically speaking, aosp is open source. practically speaking no devices can run aosp as it is, it requires drivers (or oem software), which usually are closed software. development of aosp is controlled by google and development process is not transparent, maybe final code is.

also, 99% andoroid devices contain google's closed software (gms, google play services, etc) and oem's own software. this practically makes android closed source or system, if i explain to average joe or jane.

even if i use aosp based image and tolerate closed drivers, android still more or less relies googles api's and interfaces, not necessarily good. (actually i still use aosp images on other devices than pinephone).

android is quite heavily modified linux, short version is android just took the kernel and else is different code, although mostly open source though.

short version: android is abuse of linux. (ios is also abuse of freebsd).

[TRS-80]

Here is further info substantiating some of what zetabeta said: Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary

N.B.: That article was originally written in 2013(!), and updated in 2018.  It's only got worse since then.

Do you know how some of us pedantic neckbeards like to say 'ACKTCHUALLY, ALLOW ME TO INTERJECT, it's GNU Linux...', well yes it's a joke/meme, however this is the underlying truth.  Essentially, Android is what you get when you replace all the standard GNU system interfaces and userland around the Linux kernel with something different.

Android, IMO, is just enough like Linux to get you excited about it, but not enough to be actually useful, nor fit in with the rest of your otherwise homogeneous (GNU/Linux) computing environment.  Finally I had enough of Google's shenanigans and jumped ship to PinePhone.  And I (personally) am so glad for it, even with all the rough edges (which get less and less all the time BTW).