It's time for the annual guessing game to begin!
Android Oreo is here, and while many are still waiting for their phone's Nougat update, it's still worth looking forward.
Android Oreo is Google's eighth full version of Android and brings one major shift in strategy that might mean we're not waiting for updates as long as we have been. Called Project Treble, the system files have been rearranged so that it's easier for the company who made your phone (and the company who made the parts it's built from) to update its software so that it works with updated versions of the Android core.
Other improvements for the interface and security are part of the update, too. New ways to display notifications while still keeping the same layout but letting the user control the amount of information given are coming, as are multi-function icons with unread indicators. These are all features companies building phones will need to implement into its version of Android Oreo in some form or fashion, or not at all. Android is like that — Samsung or Motorola or whoever can do as they please as long as they meet a few standards for access to Google Play. It makes Android more fun, but makes the update situation a little frustrating.
The most important thing about Oreo for many of us is when. As in, when will we see it on our phones? Right now the answer to the question is mostly a guessing game, though some of the guessings are fairly easy. We'll revisit here as we get official information, but for now, this is what we think the Android Oreo landscape is going to look like.
We've heard "official" word from a few companies about their commitment to Android Oreo. Here's what we know.
ASUS has confirmed the Oreo update for the ZenFone 3 and ZenFone 4. Expect to see updates "gradually released to all supported devices by the second half of 2018."
OnePlus says we'll see the Oreo update for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T by the end of 2017. We're betting that the OnePlus 5 will also be included because, duh.
Sony has announced the Oreo update for a long list of Xperia phones, including the Xperia XZs and Xperia X Compact. See the full list here.
HTC tells us that the HTC U11, HTC U Ultra, and HTC 10 will be getting Oreo. More details and word of other device update plans is coming soon.
Nokia (HMD Global) says every Android phone it makes will be updated to Oreo including the Nokia 3. More information will be coming.
Google has also done some name dropping. In the announcement for Android Oreo, they tell us that Essential, General Mobile, HMD Global, Huawei, HTC, Kyocera, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony are all scheduled to update some of their phones to Oreo. Of course, we have no sense of a timeline here, so expect some to be sooner and some to be later.
Android Oreo is here, and while many are still waiting for their phone's Nougat update, it's still worth looking forward.
Android Oreo is Google's eighth full version of Android and brings one major shift in strategy that might mean we're not waiting for updates as long as we have been. Called Project Treble, the system files have been rearranged so that it's easier for the company who made your phone (and the company who made the parts it's built from) to update its software so that it works with updated versions of the Android core.
Other improvements for the interface and security are part of the update, too. New ways to display notifications while still keeping the same layout but letting the user control the amount of information given are coming, as are multi-function icons with unread indicators. These are all features companies building phones will need to implement into its version of Android Oreo in some form or fashion, or not at all. Android is like that — Samsung or Motorola or whoever can do as they please as long as they meet a few standards for access to Google Play. It makes Android more fun, but makes the update situation a little frustrating.
The most important thing about Oreo for many of us is when. As in, when will we see it on our phones? Right now the answer to the question is mostly a guessing game, though some of the guessings are fairly easy. We'll revisit here as we get official information, but for now, this is what we think the Android Oreo landscape is going to look like.
We've heard "official" word from a few companies about their commitment to Android Oreo. Here's what we know.
ASUS has confirmed the Oreo update for the ZenFone 3 and ZenFone 4. Expect to see updates "gradually released to all supported devices by the second half of 2018."
OnePlus says we'll see the Oreo update for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T by the end of 2017. We're betting that the OnePlus 5 will also be included because, duh.
Sony has announced the Oreo update for a long list of Xperia phones, including the Xperia XZs and Xperia X Compact. See the full list here.
HTC tells us that the HTC U11, HTC U Ultra, and HTC 10 will be getting Oreo. More details and word of other device update plans is coming soon.
Nokia (HMD Global) says every Android phone it makes will be updated to Oreo including the Nokia 3. More information will be coming.
Google has also done some name dropping. In the announcement for Android Oreo, they tell us that Essential, General Mobile, HMD Global, Huawei, HTC, Kyocera, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony are all scheduled to update some of their phones to Oreo. Of course, we have no sense of a timeline here, so expect some to be sooner and some to be later.