General Public License v2 gives end users the freedom to ask the Android OEMs to provide the source code of any Linux kernel binaries they have shipped on devices they sell. To comply with the legal obligation, most companies nowadays publish kernel sources sometime after their devices hit the market. Xiaomi, for example, used to be one of the worst offenders of GPLv2, but the situation has been greatly improved over the past few years. The Chinese OEM has now released kernel sources for the recently launched Redmi K30 Ultra.

Featuring the MediaTek Dimensity 1000 Plus SoC, the 5G capable Redmi K30 Ultra packs in some impressive specifications, such as a 120Hz AMOLED display, a 20MP pop-up camera, and a 4,500 mAh battery that is 33W fast charge ready. On the software side, the phone comes running Android 10 with MIUI 12 on top. While the Redmi K30 Ultra (codename "cezanne") may not be launched outside China, it is good to see that Xiaomi has managed to minimize the delay posting kernel source codes for newer devices.

Redmi K30 Ultra Kernel Sources

Motorola, meanwhile, has also published the kernel source codes for the Moto G8 (codename "rav"). The Qualcomm Snapdragon 665-powered phone comes with a triple rear camera setup, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. As a matter of fact, Motorola decided to rebrand the Moto G8 as Moto G Fast for the U.S., thus the Android 10-based source code linked below should be compatible with both of them.

Motorola Moto G8 Kernel Sources || Motorola Moto G8 XDA Forums

A kernel source release with a proper commit history is quite helpful for the aftermarket development community. The modders can fiddle with the code and improve the overall performance of the respective device by tuning the stock kernel. Moreover, such source codes also serve as the foundation of building custom recoveries and ROMs for the device.