Google and Snapdragon processor company, Qualcomm, have reached a new agreement that will be quite beneficial for Android users who would like to keep their phones for longer than two years. The new agreement, dubbed “Project Treble”, will ensure that new Android phones get four years of software and security updates. Project Treble will end the reign of two years of security and software updates that are currently available on Android phones.
This means that users that buy new Android phones will be able to update the Android versions of the phones, for four years after the phone was manufactured. This solves one of the most annoying things about Android phones as current users have to toss out their phones after about two years since they won’t be able to download updates that are needed to access new technologies and innovations.
“Project Treble will ensure quicker Operating System updates with fewer challenges and a longer software lifespan for Android phones that use the Snapdragon processor,” Qualcomm said in a statement. “The project is expected to increase the number of users on Snapdragon devices that run on the most recent Android version.”
With Project Treble new Android versions will be compatible with Android devices dating back to about three generations old. The move will reduce the gap between Android phones and iPhones which currently get up to five years of software and security updates. This is why the number of old iPhones that remain active easily outweighs the number of old Android phones. With five years of software upgrades available, iPhone users can keep updating their old devices to access new technologies and innovations.
However, there are some drawbacks to Project Treble which might mean that not all Android users will benefit from the doubled software upgrade duration. The first drawback is that Android phones that do not run on Snapdragon chips will not be eligible for the newly elongated duration for upgrades. The deal is only between Qualcomm and Google. This will affect some Samsung phones, including some Samsung Galaxy phones.
Another drawback is that Project Treble will only be available for devices with Snapdragon 888, at first, beginning with Android 11. Phones manufacturers can also decide to make the extra duration available for users or not. This would mean that some manufacturers of Android phones can decide to stick with the available duration of 2 years. Google devices will most likely be armed with extra support since the California-based tech company is a part of the project.
Source: tomsguide.com
