Android devices are slimmer, faster, and more useful than ever, but why are software updates still such a big issue? Unless you own a Google Pixel device, you always have to wait months for major updates, and it’s not entirely your manufacturer’s fault, even though most of it is.
Having a large number of Android devices running on a software that is outdated is an issue for Google, and it is trying to fix it with Project Treble. Here’s everything you need to know about Project Treble why you should care about it and the devices that support it.
What is Project Treble?
Ever since Android OS picked up the face, Google has been trying to counter one major issue that iOS devices never face. This is the issue of fragmentation, which is best explained by the fact that more than 24 percent of current Android devices are running on Android 5.0 Lollipop, a software version that is now more than three years old.
Google plans to battle the issue of fragmentation by offering Project Treble with Android 8.0 Oreo, which makes it easier for Android OEMs to create software updates. Project Treble essentially pulls apart the Android OS code from the OEM’s hardware code. This, in turn, reduces the amount of time required to implement a new software update.
Why it matters
Since Project Treble is a part of Oreo, which is currently running on less than 1% of Android devices, you won’t be able to see its benefits right away. However, all those times in the past when you have waited months, or even a year for a major Android update, you’ll never have to wait that long again when Project Treble is in full swing.
Since Android OEMs will be able to integrate the latest software update from Google more easily with the hardware, the effort and duration needed to send out an OTA update will be reduced greatly. Moreover, Project Treble opens doors to creating custom ROMs, which can help bring the latest software to outdated Android devices.
List of devices that support Project Treble
Android OEMs like Samsung, OnePlus and even Nokia have not added their current devices to Project Treble. But every mobile device that is released with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, will have Project Treble integrated by default.
- Samsung Galaxy S9
- Samsung Galaxy S9+
- Sony Xperia XZ2
- Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
- ZenFone 4 ZE554KL (supports Treble without vendor partition)
- Essential Phone PH-1
- Google Pixel
- Google Pixel XL
- Google Pixel 2
- Google Pixel 2 XL
Unofficially supported devices
The development community has come forward and created a port for these devices based on Treble.
- Huawei Mate 9
- Huawei Honor 8 Pro
- Huawei P10/P10 Plus
- Redmi Note 4
