One of the under-the-hood changes implemented in Google’s Android 8.0 Oreo lies in a new and strict system for background app limitations, and it seems that Google will require all device manufacturers to support these changes on their devices or suffer the consequences in the form of not receiving a Google Play Store certification.
Historically speaking, OEMs have a tendency to develop their own background application management tools for their smartphones as opposed to adopting Google’s solution, however, with Android 8.0 Oreo, Google intends to do away with this practice. As revealed by Alphabet’s subsidiary in the Android Oreo Compatibility Definition Document, OEMs are no longer allowed to modify the operating system’s background app limitations, and the repercussions of ignoring these rules are quite severe. OEMs who disregard the limitations will not be able to receive the Google Play Store certification, which means that smartphones whose background app limitations have been tampered with will no longer be pre-loaded with Google applications, including the Google Play Store. Those new rules should spell good news for consumers as third-party developers will no longer have to account for each OEM’s proprietary background app limitations when creating their apps, and instead, they will only need to accommodate Google’s method of handling background tasks. In addition, this should also lead to improved battery life and better performance on devices running Android 8.0 Oreo, as Google’s limitations are stricter and prevent third-party apps from abusing background processes.
All of those changes will be implemented on every device running Google’s latest mobile operating system. However, it’s important to note that there may still be some exceptions to this rule, as the Google Play Store is unavailable in certain regions including China, meaning that a number of OEMs currently rely on their own application ecosystems and don’t pre-load their devices with the Google Play Store in the first place. On the other hand, recent reports suggest that the Google Play Store could finally be introduced in more regions including China, Cuba, Iran, Macau, Myanmar, and Sudan in the future, though Google has yet to make an official announcement on the matter.