Why is Android so different from Linux distros?

Android is based on Linux, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the same as your average Linux distribution. A redditor wanted to know why Android is so different from the desktop distributions that we all know and love.

Fcu5r5 asked his question:

Might not be relevant or off-track here, inform me if i do. But I was trying to get a custom rom for my phone, but it seems “flashing” was required for the phone. Flimsy and inconsistent applications such as Odin/Heimdall are involved. As far as I know, android is Linux-based. What is so different about Android that it requires flashing the system? What technical problems awaits me if I were to wipe the entire internal memory and reinstall from scratch like I do for my Linux distros?

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