Android’s subscription era is here – and it’s not okay

From OS to AI, Android is losing the openness that made it great

Android is not having a good time, and a big reason is that Google doesn’t seem to care about the OS the way it used to. Looking at the current state of Android, it’s hard not to feel that the operating system has taken a back seat to AI. Android used to be one of Google’s flagship products. Today, Android feels like little more than a vehicle for the company’s AI ambitions.

I’m not against AI. What concerns me is how quickly Android is being reshaped around AI services, cloud processing, and ongoing subscriptions. The most heavily promoted features are no longer automatically part of your phone. They’re services that require an internet connection, a Google account and, in some cases, a monthly fee.

Android feels like little more than a vehicle for the company’s AI ambitions

The last few Google I/O events have been dominated by AI announcements, while Android has been pushed into separate events and receives far less attention.

Many of the headline features Google showcases today are AI-powered, cloud-dependent, and likely to end up behind a paywall. Android is slowly moving from an operating system you buy with your phone to a platform where the most interesting features come with an ongoing subscription attached.

From on-device to subscription

Google keeps telling us that Android is entering a new era, but the company’s recent announcements point to a different reality. Android no longer appears to be its main product. AI subscriptions are. Scan through this year’s Google I/O announcements and the pattern becomes obvious.

Nearly every major announcement revolved around Gemini, AI agents, AI-powered creation tools, and cloud-based intelligence. Android itself played a supporting role, serving primarily as the platform through which Google delivers those services.

Android no longer appears to be its main product. AI subscriptions are

The problem is that many of these headline features are not really Android features at all. They’re subscription products. If you want access to Daily Brief, Gemini Spark, Information Agents, advanced Gemini capabilities, and many of the other tools Google spent its keynote promoting, you need to pay a monthly fee.

And these services don’t come cheap. You’ll pay £4.49/$7.99 per month for a basic package. There are higher-tier plans priced at £18.99/$19.99 and from £79.99/$99.99 that include some of these same features, with more cloud storage and a higher usage limit.

This represents a major change from what Android used to be. For years, the value proposition was straightforward. You bought a phone, and Google’s software improvements arrived through updates and new app features. Better cameras, smarter assistants, improved voice recognition, and cloud-powered conveniences all became part of the ecosystem.

Today, Google increasingly places its most ambitious software behind Google AI paywalls. The operating system receives updates, but the features Google wants people talking about live somewhere else.

Android is also becoming more restrictive

There are broader changes happening across the Android ecosystem. Google’s recent push to require developer registration outside the Play Store has raised concerns about the future of sideloading, alternative app stores, and open-source software distribution.

Increasingly it feels as though Android is moving away from the open, user-controlled platform that made it successful and toward a more tightly managed ecosystem that looks a lot closer to iOS.

Google’s argument is security, and that, at least, is not nonsense. Malware is a real problem on Android, and people absolutely get tricked into installing dangerous APKs from random websites. But the solution Google is choosing changes the nature of Android itself.

Google is inserting itself deeper into the process of deciding which developers are allowed to distribute software to Android users. It’s an issue that could have been solved by improving warnings and educating users.

Google says sideloading is not going away and, technically, that’s true. But if unregistered apps become harder to install on certified Android devices, then the practical meaning of sideloading changes.

This is the same pattern we’re seeing with AI subscriptions. Google is changing where the power is located. The most advanced AI tools sit behind paid subscriptions. Similarly, the most flexible app distribution paths now sit behind developer verification, advanced flows, and Google-managed safety gates. There’s more corporate control and less consumer choice.

The phone you bought is now less important to Google than the services the company controls around it. And that won’t be changing any time soon.

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