@nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... @nprofile1q... Android doesn't require any downstream kernel patches and works fine with mainline Linux kernels. All of the kernel drivers for Android are typically open source. The issue of SoC vendors and other hardware vendors providing software support in the form of proprietary libraries and services such as the ARM Mali GPU library isn't specific to Android or caused by Android. Android having a standard hardware abstraction layer with sandboxing isn't a vendor concession.