Google Imposing GUI Restrictions on Android 4.0 Devices

Google wants to make sure Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) is as tasty as possible, and has instituted a policy that all Android devices accessing the official Google Marketplace must be running an unmodified Android 4.0. So say goodbye to custom GUIs and modified launchers. Why? According to Google, it’s all about consistency. Read on for the details …

I have quite a few bones to pick with Android, but I usually don’t critique the style-side of the Android word. Besides, at the end of the day, shouldn’t it really be about whether the phone works as intended? But Google is clamping down, saying its  Android 4.0 Theme “Holo” must be unmodified and used for all new Andorid 4.0 devices shipping with the Android Marketplace installed. According the official Google Android Developers Blog:

Essentially, Google is cracking down. Why? Competition. The allure of most Apple products is a level of consistency, ease of use and sexy style. I’ve long maintained, especially after Google’s acquisition of Motorola, that deep down Google wants to take Android and give it the close vertical integration it deserves, with both hardware, software and under-the-hood tweaks. Android fragmentation, especially cheap Android phones with poor performance, weaken that Google Android brand. Requiring vendors to adhere to these thematic rules to have Google services and Marketplace on a device is a way to ensure consistency while allowing some mild device fragmentation. Most important of all, it will give developers a break on wondering how apps will look and feel across the plethora of Android devices out today.

Good for Google. Now we’ll just have to wait and see what the vendors do.