AI & TechnologyAndroid Things Shut Down: What to Run Your Device App On in 2026

Android Things is gone: Google said it would turn down its console on January 5, 2022, and the developer boards stopped getting security patches in August 2019. A device still running it keeps working only as long as nothing around it changes, and it can't be updated through Google any more. I'm not aware of a direct replacement from Google. In 2026 the usual paths are a managed Android device in dedicated-device mode, Linux on the board with your own app, or a smart home platform such as Matter.

If you landed here from an old link to developer.android.com/things or an Android Things sample, this is what happened and what to do next. The dates come from Google's 2019 announcement and an archived copy of the Android Things FAQ, as listed in the sources. I checked the old addresses myself on October 18, 2026.

Disclosure: App369 is my studio. I build Flutter apps, including one that sends commands to GPS vehicle alarms, and the last section mentions what I sell. No company named here paid for a mention.

What happened to Android Things, and when

The FAQ also said Google had no plans to support newer Raspberry Pi models such as the 3B+ and 4. So the public developer platform stayed on those two boards.

What the old addresses do today

Checked on October 18, 2026:

• developer.android.com/things returned 404, and so did /things/faq and /things/hardware.
• The androidthings samples on GitHub are still readable but archived. For example, sample-simplepio was archived with its last push on May 26, 2021.
• cloud.google.com/iot-core redirects to a Google Cloud architecture page about connected-device platforms.

If you still have devices running Android Things

1. Find out what you can't rebuild. The console's factory images, APKs and build settings were deleted in 2022. Look on your own machines, CI systems and backups for the last image and APK, and keep a copy.
2. Treat developer-board devices as unpatched. They haven't had a security patch since August 2019. Keep them off public networks and away from anything that holds customer data until they're replaced.
3. List what the device actually does. Write down the screens, the sensors and pins it reads, the cloud services it calls, and how it gets updates today. That list is the specification for the replacement, whichever path you choose.
4. Check what it talks to. If it sent data through Cloud IoT Core, that path closed on August 16, 2023, so check what the device does now. If it relied on that path, it will have stopped working.

What to run a device app on in 2026

An Android device in dedicated-device mode

Google's dedicated devices guide lists kiosks, digital signage and hospitality check-in as customer-facing uses, and inventory and field service as employee-facing ones. The device is fully managed by an admin component. Lock task mode keeps people inside the apps you allow, and only apps allowlisted by a device policy controller can run in it. In my view, this is the closest fit for a device that runs one app on one screen that people can't leave. The app itself can be a normal Android or Flutter app.

Linux on the board

If you need a specific board, GPIO pins or a custom enclosure, Linux is the route I'd look at first. Flutter's embedded page says you can embed the Flutter engine in devices such as smart displays and thermostats, and that it is stable but low-level and not for beginners. flutter-pi is a community embedder for Raspberry Pi that runs without X11 or Wayland, so the board can boot to the command line and start your app from there. My advice: plan how you'll update these devices in the field before you ship them, because there's no console doing it for you.

A smart home platform

If the product is a light, lock, sensor or similar device for the home, I'd look at Matter first. Google's Home developer docs include codelabs on integrating a physical device with Matter and controlling it from Google Home, so check whether that covers your product before building a custom app and cloud.

Need a hand?

If you're replacing an Android Things device and need the app rebuilt, for a dedicated Android device or as a Flutter app on Linux, send me a short description of what the device does today and how many are in the field, and I'll tell you which path I'd take. If a phone app that talks to your devices has one specific bug, the App Fix Ticket handles it in two fixed-price steps. A $450 Diagnosis gives you the root cause with evidence and a fixed repair quote within 3 business days, credited toward the fix. If you go ahead, the $1,200 Fix takes 5 business days. For a related Android change, see Google Sign-In for Android is deprecated.