Yes, Android uses the Linux kernel. Congratulations, you’ve identified the lowest common denominator. That does not mean you’re “using Linux” in any meaningful sense of the word.
When people talk about using Linux, they’re talking about an actual Linux environment, full control, GNU userland, desktop distributions, package management, the whole ecosystem. Not a locked-down mobile OS where everything is sandboxed behind an app store and you interact with it through a touchscreen UI.
By your logic, using Android makes you a Linux power user, which is obviously absurd.
You’re technically correct in the most superficial way possible, but it completely misses the point I was making.
I don’t think you actually read what I wrote before responding.
What does the kernel have to do with the point I’m making about Linux kernel, Linux, or Android?
Yes, Android uses the Linux kernel. That’s not the argument. The kernel by itself is not the operating system people are referring to when they say they “use Linux.”
Android is not a traditional Linux system, and more importantly, it is not some bastion of open-source purity. It is developed and controlled by Google, with most real-world functionality tied to its proprietary ecosystem.
So bringing up the kernel doesn’t actually address what I said.
Android is Linux
Oh please, that’s such a lazy “gotcha.”
Yes, Android uses the Linux kernel. Congratulations, you’ve identified the lowest common denominator. That does not mean you’re “using Linux” in any meaningful sense of the word.
When people talk about using Linux, they’re talking about an actual Linux environment, full control, GNU userland, desktop distributions, package management, the whole ecosystem. Not a locked-down mobile OS where everything is sandboxed behind an app store and you interact with it through a touchscreen UI.
By your logic, using Android makes you a Linux power user, which is obviously absurd.
You’re technically correct in the most superficial way possible, but it completely misses the point I was making.
Linux is the kernel
I don’t think you actually read what I wrote before responding. What does the kernel have to do with the point I’m making about Linux kernel, Linux, or Android?
Yes, Android uses the Linux kernel. That’s not the argument. The kernel by itself is not the operating system people are referring to when they say they “use Linux.”
Android is not a traditional Linux system, and more importantly, it is not some bastion of open-source purity. It is developed and controlled by Google, with most real-world functionality tied to its proprietary ecosystem.
So bringing up the kernel doesn’t actually address what I said.