A bit late to the party but:
So with the release of A16 in June, Google:
- Removed all specific device trees
- Began pushing squashed commit history for kernel
And then when QPR1 dropped, they:
- Didn't push source to AOSP in a timely manner, giving a vague time estimate
- Have yet to push it or give updates on why
So since initial A16 release, the Grapheneos team:
- Extracts binaries etc from A16 factory images
- Recreates device trees for existing Pixels based on the published ones for A15
- Plans to continue to do so for future releases (like QPR1) and has been adapting by developing tools to streamline this tedious process
- Is attempting to partner up with a new OEM now that Google/Pixels are essentially just becoming another OEM with no special ease of use for devs?
Is this more or less right?
Are these device trees functionally identical or what? This must have been (and must continue to be) a huge effor, but has it led to any regressions in hardware support, or major bugs or drawbacks from a security perspective?
Will the (hopefully) new devices have all the security features that the latest Pixels have had, or are there likely to be some regressions or downgrades from a security perspective?
How will all this affect long term support currently supported Pixels? Are there too many unknowns still (why Google is doing this and what will happen with their releases going forward) to really know?
How much of a bind does this put grapheneos in? Or is it rather an opportunity to adapt, change, and expand? Are there any best/worst case of more/less likely scenarios for what Google is and will be doing with AOSP going forward?