Why does stock Android itself now have GUI fragmentation?

[mikolsic]

Why is it that Google thought it would be a good idea to produce an entirely separate launcher (Pixel Launcher), with a different look? Why couldn't they just update the Google Now Launcher to meet their new design requirements?

 

[lunatic59]

Probably because they already have Google Now on a lot of devices. If they simply updated it, the current users would expect the same feature set as Pixel owners and that might not have been possible.

 

[psionandy]

If they cared about launcher fragmentation, or if it was an issue worth caring about, then they'd specify that devices have to stick with a stock launcher, the way that devices have to ship with Google maps.


Launchers are a way that manufacturers can differentiate their brand across other devices. Google are allowed to do this as much as anyone else.

 

[Deleted User]

They even announced months back that their discontinuing Google Now Launcher to focus on The Pixel Launcher so no more updates for that it seems

 

[psionandy]

They even announced moths back that their discontinuing Google Now Launcher to focus on The Pixel Launcher so no more updates for that it seems

Well that should make mikolsic happy then.

Problem solved

 

[Hadron]

Google abandoning an app is nothing new, or even unusual

But the thread title is wrong: it's not stock android, because the Pixels aren't stock Android phones, they are Google phones. So while the base OS is stock, they include additional Google add-ons, some of which (such as Assistant) may later become available on other devices, others (such as the launcher) remain specific to their devices.

You could make a pretty convincing case that the Essential phone is a more "stock android" device than the Pixels as far as I can see.