So wait. Adding one set of closed source stuff on top of Android (GAPPS) still makes it Android, but adding another set (Touchwiz) disqualifies it? Alright then, carry on...
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You STILL didn't address what I said. You're avoiding it. Or you're reading too far into it, or not far enough. I'm having a hard time figuring out which.
Manufacturer "skins" that hold software updates up are bad IMO. So are carriers for this same reason. "Pure" Android takes very little work on the part of the manufacturer to port to hardware (looking at Asus) assuming the hardware has no limitations preventing it from running the new version. The closed source portion of the framework is what takes so long (the more Google changed the longer it takes manufacturers) to get updated.
We could go into GAPPS and why Google makes them closed source, but I'd rather see a thread in a different section devoted to that. Not running GAPPS should be a disqualifier for being considered Android, but alas, it's not (such is the nature of the open source beast). There are many craplets that run Android, but Google wants nothing to do with them because of the subpar experience users have with them. That's why they have no GAPPS.
Anybody looking at a non Nexus should not expect any updates at all, and if they receive any it should be seen as a blessing.
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