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Google has been working for years to make Android updates better and faster. This is one of the most common complaints with Android at the moment, and the main reason most people buy a pixel (or a Nexus, before 2016). Indeed, Pixel smartphones are updated directly by Google. But Google launched last year a new "project" to improve the frequency of Android updates, namely Project Treble. Google announced today that it was hoping to see more Android 9 Pie devices by the end of 2018 than Android 8.0 Oreo by the end of 2017. And until now it seems to happen. Many smartphones have already launched the Android Pie update for their devices. Especially Essential, OnePlus and Sony, and Samsung launches its beta version for Android 9 Pie today. However, this statement was made last year when the Treble project was announced and implemented with Oreo. But the difference is that now all Android Pie or later smartphones will be compatible Treble, because they are now mandatory. With Android Oreo, this was not a requirement and many smartphone manufacturers chose not to include this updated framework.
At the Android Developers Summit last week, Google introduced a number of Android smartphones with the generic system image, or GSI. This is built from the latest available AOSP source code, which really makes it an Android stock, and it also includes the latest bugfixes made by OEMs. Manufacturers are already using the GSI to validate the implementation of the vendor interface on their devices. Now, Android app developers will be able to use the GSI to test their own apps on different Android devices. This will help Android developers actually prepare their applications for the new versions of Android, even before they launch.
Context: Project Treble is not the first thing Google has tried to do to speed up software updates. He tried to make an alliance many years ago to allow users to benefit from faster updates. It has also launched Google Play Services, a framework for all Google certified Android devices. It has been used to broadcast new features, bug fixes and even to fix some exploits without having to release a brand new version of Android. But it seems that the Treble project is the most successful to date. As for pixels, Google does not promise software updates the same day for other smartphones, but it promises faster updates. Of course, the beta program for newer versions of Android certainly helps Google in this country, especially this year, where several of its partners participated in the beta program, including Sony, OnePlus, Xiaomi.
Software updates will always be the fall of Android. And the reason these updates take so long is because Android is used by everyone. Smartphones with appearances such as those of Samsung, LG and HTC will take longer as these manufacturers have to work on this software and integrate it into their skin. For example, Samsung has completely reworked its skin and has renamed "One UI" with Android 9 Pie, which obviously required a lot of work and as a result, the deployment of Android Pie is taking longer. But even with this redesign of its own user interface, Samsung launched the beta for Android Pie earlier than Android for Oreo last year – and it's available for many more devices – which is a start. In addition to optimizing these updates for skins, manufacturers must also have them certified. Google must certify the update, as well as operators, especially in the United States. That's why updates take so long, there are so many moving parts. Now, Apple has yet to have its updates certified by operators, but as they build the update, it's the only certification they need. They also do it in advance even before announcing an update. This is how iOS is able to deploy much faster than Android. There are only a handful of different iPhones, while there are thousands of different Android smartphone models.
Impact: Many were expecting a lot of Project Treble, including Google. However, the fact that many manufacturers chose to no longer use Project Treble support in their Android Oreo updates last year was a big problem and almost made Project Treble useless for Google. This is now a requirement for manufacturers, which is actually a good thing for Google because it will be able to broadcast these updates faster. And although the Treble project was only launched last year, we are already seeing the fruits of its work. Until now, many other smartphones have been updated and launched with Android Pie, then in any other version of Android at that time after the launch. Smartphones like the Sony Xperia XZ3, the OnePlus 6T and the Huawei Mate 20 have all been launched with Android Pie, and nearly a dozen other smartphones have already been updated for Android Pie. However, Android Pie still does not appear on the monthly distribution board, which is a bit surprising given the number of devices running under Pie.
Project Treble does not seem to be able to completely solve the problem of software updates on Android for Google, but it is accelerating these updates, and that is what is important at the moment. The updates have always been a problem, in fact, we still see some devices receiving their update Oreo now, more than a year after its launch. Which is pretty pathetic. Not only do users want the latest and most powerful version of Android, but it is important that everyone is updated, for security reasons. Older versions of Android are not corrected as well as the most recent versions. And that's because Google found problems that it corrected in later models. And with an Android version dating back nearly two years as being the most popular, this means that many Android users are not immune to attacks or hacking of their phones. Project Treble will solve this problem.
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