"Why would they need the code from the chip makers? They would give the chip makers an API and they would supply blobs that implement it just like they do now."
Except these blobs would go straight to Google, not to the manufacturers. That's the reason to take it proprietary: to take control of the OS away from the manufacturers and put it square in Google's corner the same way iOS is all Apple. Thanks to things like Stagefright, Google's potentially on the hook (since the exploit code is in Android itself, NOT in the driver blobs) unless they can control the update channel, and the only way to control the update channel is to take control away from the manufacturers. There's no other way around it because the manufacturers in this case will be actively interfering (because they want a Captive Market so they can tell customers, "Your phone is obsolete. Time for a new one *ka-ching!*").
Biting the hand that feeds IT
