Android

Google asks developers to call out Android OEMs that aggressively close background apps

Ben Schoon | Jun 14 2021 - 7:44 am PT

Android’s open nature leads to some disparity with how apps and features can work across devices from different smartphone makers. Over the last couple of years, background app performance has been a point of attention for Google, and now, the company is asking the Android developer community to call out the worst offenders for killing background apps.

A thread from Google started in 2018 is where the company has publicly been addressing this problem, and recently, it was used to call for public feedback around how different Android OEMs handle background apps. As XDA highlighted, a Googler committed to looking further into how manufacturers such as Xiaomi and OnePlus kill crucial background tasks such as Accessibility Service, linking to a form where developers can detail their own findings.

The Google Form, available here, asks for 10 bits of information so the company can investigate. This includes, of course, contact details, the issue at hand, and the app being affected by the aggressive background activity management. Further, though, Google asks which Android OEM is causing the problem. The list of options includes:

Google Pixel
OnePlus
Oppo
Samsung

Transsion
Vivo
Xiaomi
“Other”

The brands listed by Google are no big surprise as they are, generally speaking, either the most influential or the most popular Android devices out there. Most of those listed, however, are notorious for killing background apps on Android and are likely the ones developers are having the biggest issues with. OnePlus and Samsung have gone back and forth for the crown when it comes to this problem for years.

It also can’t be stressed enough that Google is asking only for developer feedback, not your personal complaints about how these devices kill background Android apps. Do everyone a favor and don’t flood the form with information that’s not relevant, it’ll only make the problem harder to solve.