Android updates to smartphones have been a hassle for years despite significant progress thanks to Google’s Project Treble and Project Mainline programs.
This project is now getting a boost from Qualcomm. The giant processor company and Google have linked up and this partnership brings with it new improvements to Project Treble.
Qualcomm plans to make it easier for smartphones running on its processors to get quick Android updates.
The enhanced Project Treble starting with Android 11 by these two companies will allow for the same OS framework and thus vendor implementations across Qualcomm-powered chips which is expected to simplify the update process.
Qualcomm will initially start with Snapdragon 888 powered smartphones that will now get very timely Android updates on different smartphones.
This partnership lowers the number of vendor implementation and OS framework combinations that the chip company has to support across their mobile platforms which results in lowered engineering, development and deployment costs.
Both Google and Qualcomm will offer three Android OS versions and four years of security support – that is Android 11, Android 12, Android 13 and Android 14.
Qualcomm clarifies this by saying that they will support the launch version and 3 OS upgrades, for a total of 4 major Android OS versions.
Samsung has already promised that some of its devices including the Note 20 series, the S20 series, the A-series and Z series 3 generations of updates.
Some other smartphone manufactures set to use the Snapdragon 888 chip include vivo, OPPO, Xiaomi, realme, OnePlus, Sharp, Nubia, Motorola, LG, Meizu, Black Shark, and Asus.
Android 11 Day One Update Rolls out to Select OPPO, realme and Xiaomi Phones
Xiaomi’s upcoming flagship, the Mi 11 will be the first smartphone to launch with the Snapdragon 888.
Samsung Galaxy S20 was the first smartphone to ship with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 that launched last year.
Snapdragon 888 features Kyro 680 CPU that is 25% more powerful and 25% more battery effiecient.
Adreno 660 GPU it comes with is also 20% more efficient and renders graphics 35% faster.
Qualcomm has confirmed that this policy will also trickle down to Qualcomm’s mid-tier and budget chips – so it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
It’s worth noting that even with this announcement, it’ll be up to OEMs to actually follow through with these updates – Google and Qualcomm are just laying the groundwork.
