Google Kills Android Things Platform

Google has pulled the plug on Android Things, the operating system designed for low-energy Internet of Things devices and announced just a couple of years ago.

One of the biggest problems of the IoT space is the incredible fragmentation of the software and operating systems. With each company doing its own thing for its own hardware, the advent of Android Things promised to unite many companies under the same umbrella.

Announced in 2015 and launched in 2018, Android Things stayed online for only a couple of years. Many companies apparently didn’t want to be trapped in the Google ecosystem, so the platform gained little traction.

“We are turning down the Android Things Console for non-commercial use,” says Google. “Beginning January 5, 2021 the console will no longer allow creation of new projects using NXP i.MX7D and Raspberry Pi 3B.”

“Developers can continue to use the Android Things console to build images and serve OTA updates for their existing projects until January 5, 2022. At this point, the console will be turned down completely and all project data will be permanently deleted — including build configurations and factory images.”

It’s worth noting that the platform is still available in some commercial hardware from NXP, Qualcomm, and MediaTek. Existing projects can still use the platform to manage projects, upload custom apps, download factory images, and deploy OTA (over-the-air) updates for Raspberry Pi 3B and NXP i.MX7D using the Android Things Console until January 5, 2022.