Stock Android theme mandatory on all ICS devices, says Google

One small step for Android, one giant leap towards iOS and WP7: Google has announced, with surprisingly little fanfare, that all devices with Android Market installed must have the stock Android 4.0 “Holo” (Nexus) theme/skin/layout installed.

“All devices with Android Market” is Google’s way of saying “all legitimate Android devices.” Basically, Android the OS is completely free to use by anyone, but Google keeps tight control of which phones and tablets can access the Market, and which devices come pre-loaded with its apps (Gmail, Maps, Navigation, and so on.) In essence, Google is mandating that carriers and OEMs must include the default, Nexus theme on all Android 4.0 devices.

Now, before you get too excited, this doesn’t seem to be quite as simple as “all Android devices will come with the stock skin.” The wording is a little more complicated than that. It seems like the Holo theme must be installed on every phone and tablet, but Google then says “We have no desire to restrict manufacturers from building their own themed experience across their devices.” The basic gist of it is that apps, in Android 4.0, will be able to choose whether to use Holo buttons and widgets, or the manufacturer’s widgets (Sense, Motoblur, TouchWi , etc.) In other words, if you buy an HTC phone, you might soon have a mix of user interfaces to contend with: Sense on the homescreen and settings menus, but Holo apps.

On the other hand, though, if every Android 4.0 device comes with the Holo theme installed, will that mean that every user can simply select Holo as their default launcher? Much like you can switch between ADW, Go Launcher, and stock, will you be able to simply toggle Sense on and off? Currently, non-Nexus phones don’t have the stock launcher installed, so you have to root your phone to install it — but now, every Android device has to have the Holo launcher, which should make switching very easy indeed. We’ll have to wait until the first non-Galaxy Nexus Android ICS phone arrives to find out if this is the case.

If you’ve bought a Galaxy Nexus, or used a custom ICS ROM, it’s impossible to ignore the similarities between Android 4.0, and iOS and Windows Phone 7. Android has consistently struggled to achieve the same levels of (perceived?) smoothness and as iOS and WP7 — and now, with this mandate, Google is effectively admitting that a Wild West orgy of customi ation isn’t necessarily the right way forward. For the first time, Google has a competitive interface, and it wants to make damn sure that it sei es the advantage.

Let’s just hope that Google doesn’t go too far and lock down the interface entirely, ala Windows Phone 7. We all know how that has fared.

For more info, including developer-related notes, hit up the official Android Developer site.

Update: We’ve had our in-bunker Android geeks look at this one, and it seems like all Android ICS devices will have the same Settings pages, but that the Homescreen and App Drawer will probably still be customi ed by the OEM/carrier. Google’s announcement really is rather vague, though, so it’s probably wiser to just wait and see.

Stock Android theme mandatory on all ICS devices, says Google