Google will launch an Android emulator corresponding to the RISC-V architecture in 2024

Following Qualcomm’s earlier announcement of its collaboration with Google to develop Wear OS-compatible smart wearables rooted in the RISC-V architecture, Google has now unveiled its future blueprint to augment Android platform support for the RISC-V open-source architecture.

Google initially proclaimed during last year’s RISC-V Summit that it intends to elevate the RISC-V open-source architecture to a Tier-1 support designation within the Android ecosystem, placing it on par with the Arm architecture. This implies a more seamless integration and operation of the Android platform on the RISC-V open-source architecture, with mature support anticipated in the near horizon.

In the latest disclosure, Google has affirmed its plan to introduce an Android emulator tailored for the RISC-V open-source architecture by 2024. This endeavor aims to empower a broader spectrum of developers and industry players to craft an expansive array of products leveraging RISC-V open-source processors. Concurrently, this would also amplify the applicative reach of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

At present, within the Android Open Source Project framework, the embracement of the RISC-V open-source architecture is still in its nascent stages. Notably, optimizations in the background threads of Android Runtime (ART) remain under active development. Consequently, the emergence of Android smartphones equipped with RISC-V open-source processors might not be imminent, but such an advent might not be too far off either.