> Java was just starting to get revitalized after a long period of stagnation. Java 7 was a big deal and for a long time Android devs were limited to a weird amalgamation of Java 6 and a few Java 7 features.
Counterclaim: If it were not such a big legal hazzle, it would have been a lot more easy for Google to update to new Java versions fast on Android.
Counter-counter-claim: No, it wouldn't, because Google screwed the pooch with their update mechanism. The reason people were faced with the decision of not using the new features, using unofficial backports, or cutting off older devices is because Google could not update their devices in a reasonable manner.
Just to give examples that look plausible to me: Because of the legal burden Google decided to implement their own version of the Java standard library based on Apache Harmony.
With every new version of Java coming there might be new legal pitfalls to consider and surely almost always the sword of Damocles that Oracle might consider the fact that Google implemented new Java features as a reason to extort more money from Google since they implemented additional copyrighted APIs.
Counterclaim: If it were not such a big legal hazzle, it would have been a lot more easy for Google to update to new Java versions fast on Android.