Samsung releases Galaxy S22 kernel source
Despite Google’s moves toadd more proprietary features to its Android build, the underlying software is still open source. That means every Android phone release is followed some weeks later by a less notable open source code dump. Today, Samsung has gotten to that phase, releasing kernel source for the Galaxy S22 family. Not all of it, though.
According toXDA, you may grab the kernel source for the Galaxy S22 (SM-S901B), Galaxy S22 Plus (SM-S906B), and Galaxy S22 Ultra (SM-S908B) onSamsung’s open source catalog. The software is based on Android 12 and One UI 4.1, with version number S90xBXXU1AVA7 or S90xBXXU1AVA8 depending on the model. However, these are just for the Exynos 2200 version, which is used in place of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 outside of North America. If you need that version, you’ll have to wait a bit longer.
If you’re not a tinkerer or developer, the kernel source isn’t of much use. Like all other Android OEMs, Samsung is required under the GPLv2 license to release this code. Devs can use it to build on Samsung’s features, troubleshoot apps and services on these phones, and even work toward full custom ROMs. However, the phones don’t have unlockable bootloaders, which limits the software changes you can make.
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