The longevity of Android updates has always been an issue, but it has gotten better over time. Behind the scenes, Google has introduced some big changes for Android manufacturers. This will make it easier for more Android smartphones to offer up to seven years of support, similar to Pixel.
Google set a new industry record by promising seven years of updates for the Pixel 8 series, a policy it continued with the Pixel 9 launch earlier this year, and Samsung followed suit with some Galaxy devices. I took it. But outside of these two brands, I’ve never seen such a big promise. However, this may change over time.
Android permissionsCiting anonymous sources, reports that Google has introduced a “Longevity GRF” program aimed at facilitating long-term support for Android manufacturers.
One of the main obstacles to long-term software support on Android has been the chipset itself. Chip manufacturers often supported their chips for only a few years, and Google needed to update vendor software with every new Android update. Google started freezing this requirement a while back as part of the “GRF” (Google Requirements Freeze), allowing vendors to certify software updates for several years without changing them. However, it was only allowed to renew for three years before things got complicated.
In a private meeting earlier this year, Google announced an update to this with its “Longevity GRF” program. This allows Android manufacturers to continue using their original vendor software for up to seven Android OS updates instead of just three. However, these companies are still required to update their Linux kernels at least every three years. This is primarily focused on security, but Android permissions This is because backporting security patches to older Linux kernels can make updates more complicated or cause patches to be missing entirely.
It has also been noted that while this increases the time between Android updates, some new Android features require vendor software updates, which may result in functionality loss on some devices. Masu. Examples include the 2G toggle in Android 12 and the flashlight brightness API in Android 13. Both require vendor software updates to function, even if the required Android updates are installed.
Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip appears to be the first chip supported by the Longevity GRF program, but neither Google nor its partners have made any public announcements regarding this yet.
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