Petition Asks the Developers of Phoenix OS to Open Source the Kernel

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Android is mainly considered an open source mobile operating system, but there are a number of closed source elements that hundreds of millions of people use every day. The actual requirements of Android is that the kernel be open sourced for the public. This is enforced by the GPL but sadly this is one of those gray areas where someone actually needs to take legal action to enforce it. Some companies have violated this time and time again, and a new petition is calling for the developers of Phoenix OS to do the right thing.

For those who are unaware, Phoenix OS is one of the only full desktop versions of Android that is still being maintained. We’ve covered another popular platform, RemixOS, on a number of occasions but even they dropped out recently to focus on being a 2B2 company. This has left a lot of people to look towards Phoenix OS as their desktop Android solution, but there’s one glaring flaw here. The developers have yet to release the source code for the kernel that’s being used.

So while this operating system does offer a lot of unique features, hardware support is still poor and could benefit with help from the community. Not only would opening up the source code of the kernel fulfil the developers’ legal and moral obligation, but it would also encourage a boost in community developer support. We here at XDA know the benefits of this and it’s the only reason why so many aging smartphones and tablets can run the latest version of Android.

So a dedicated fan of the platform, Karol Putra, has created a Change.org petition in hopes that it will change their minds. We realize that many people scoff at the idea of signing an online petition, but it’s one of those things that won’t hurt the cause, and it could actually benefit it if the developers see there is enough interest from the community.

Update: Success! PhoenixOS has open sourced their kernel within a few days of this petition. The change.org petition page claims that the kernel sources so posted are indeed unique and different from Android-x86. You can find the kernel sources over at PhoenixOS’s github page.