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Android vendor hooks keep device-specific kernel changes out of mainline

lwn.net by corbet Editor score 6/10

Android devices still carry many out-of-tree kernel changes, with vendor hooks the preferred way to make them. The discussion is useful context for engineers managing platform-specific kernel behavior and upstream divergence.

What

- Vendor hooks are the preferred form for device-specific changes in Android kernels.

How

- Current Android devices still carry many out-of-tree changes, despite progress toward mainline and the help of the generic kernel image.

Why it matters

- For kernel engineers, vendor hooks are the identified approach for handling remaining device-specific changes.

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