Savvy Android users know that Apple’s face-to-face with the FBI is only the beginning of the phone-encryption furor. Google CEO Sundar Pichai voiced his support for Apple and for strong and safe encryption, but he didn’t give specifics on how Google would deal with this situation if it were in Apple’s shoes.
That’s because if Syed Rizwan Farook, the San Bernardino shooter, had been using an older Android smartphone, we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion.
Encryption has so far lost out to openness in the Android ecosystem. It's actually been supported since version 4.0 (KitKat), and the latest iterations of Google’s own Nexus devices have encryption on by default, but the rest of Android has been slower on the uptake, especially internationally.
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