Android will eventually become more flexible on smartwatches, TVs and automobiles

As Google continues to push Android to new platforms like wearables, TVs and automobiles, developers have been concerned that the company may lock down the fairly flexible operating system, however the company is saying that this isn’t the case. In a recent interview with Re/Code, Google’s VP of engineering for Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer shed some light on the search giant’s plans for its popular software as it makes its way to a new batch of hardware.

“It’s not some Google-way-or-the-highway kind of thing,” Lockheimer told Re/Code the day before the company officially revealed Android version 5.0 Lollipop to the general public. The Google exec acknowledged that companies are getting less leeway when using Android for smartwatches, cars and TVs, but Lockheimer hinted that this may soon change.

He explained that Google wanted to be sure that it mastered the basic fundamentals down with these new platforms before opening Android’s customization options. The Google engineer stated that the upcoming Asus Zen Watch will be one of the first wearables to showcase how hardware manufacturers can customize an Android Wear experience.

Lockheimer shared that Google focuses on building its operating system with hardware in mind, saying that “you can’t build an OS in the abstract.”