I often think about just how much more dominant iOS would have been had Samsung not come in to save Android. They introduced better cameras, capacitive pen-enabled phones, DEX desktop enviroments and now foldables.
Having owned several Nexus devices due to their rootability, it's remarkable how much better the comparable Samsung models were.
Samsung's hardware definitely kept Android relevant. I'd even argue that Samsung's software did too. Samsung has been adding new features to their flavor of Android since the beginning. Some good, some bad. Things like multi-window, do-not-disturb, UX improvements, etc. It really came from Samsung competing with LG, HTC, Moto, etc to keep their flavor ahead. Each year Google would integrate those features into stock Android as if it were a big deal. But to most users it wasn't because it already existed for them. Now it's stagnating on all sides and everyone's looking towards Apple on what to do next.
The "switch app" button randomly stopping to work every few days, on a flagship Pixel phone... is a bit of a bad sign to say the least. But I don't think Google would allow Android to die, it's too much of an opportunity in that vertical.
Do they have the internal culture to maintain the code base? If their hiring process fills their ranks with people who are good at coding interviews, would that be enough to maintain the Android platform?
The nuts-and-bolts of Android—the stuff that doesn't make for a really pretty and flashy yet-another-redesign announcements—has felt badly neglected since I started using and developing for it over a decade ago. Google seems to be terrible at getting its workforce to do the mountain of boring-but-useful work that needs to happen to make Android suck less. Instead, we get yet another widget redesign (with most of the actual implementation left up to app developers—oh you didn't think any of that pretty stuff would just work, did you? Hahaha, making it work is boring, you silly person!) and ten more messengers (product launches = promotions, don't you know!)
Google has been working on another OS, Fuchsia [1], for 6 years. That may be where the system developers went.
Certainly you'd hope that's where Google's best system developers went, and Android is currently being maintained by their B team.
Looks plausible reason why recent AndroidOS aren't good upgrade.
I have been an Android user since the iPhone 3g and I have never considered moving back or to something else until Android 12. More and more it feel like Android is getting in the way. The app drawer/recent app swipe up is annoying and confusing, I can't do simple things like setting a timer via text unless the assistant is turned on, the driving mode is trash etc. I am really thinking of buying a pinephone pro and trying my hand at that.