The slow deployment of new versions of Android is the most common criticism of smartphone manufacturers. With the launch of the Treble project, the development teams of the American giant Google think they have found a solution to this problem of Android updates. Here's everything you need to know if the Treble project..
What the Trebel project will change
We can no longer count the number of Android users complaining that they cannot install the latest version of Google's mobile operating system on their smartphones. This is all the more annoying that this situation has persisted for several years.
Imagine the head of a technology enthusiast who has just spent no less than 1000 euros to buy the latest fashionable smartphone and who realizes that he will not be able to take advantage of all the new features in Android. Many people ignore it, but most of the phones currently sold on the market do not have the latest version of Android..
For several years, manufacturers have promised to make efforts to deploy their updates. It is clear that the results are still not there. Unlike the iPhone, new versions of Android generally take a long time to arrive on smartphones. Here is the method to update your Android smartphone.
Why is the deployment of updates so slow?
You should know that Android is an open-source mobile operating system. This means that manufacturers and developers have complete freedom to improve and customize the Google OS. Moreover, most manufacturers take advantage of this to develop personalized interfaces (overlays) supposed to improve the user experience..
These versions above all allow manufacturers to differentiate themselves from the competition. The few modifications made (management of notifications, original themes) and the very questionable graphic choices generally bring only too few changes compared to the AOSP version.
However, these overlays have a huge impact on the deployment of updates. Once the new version of Android is released, each manufacturer must modify it to make it compatible with its software overlay and adapt it to the hardware components embedded in their devices.
But that's not all. They must then ensure that the smartphone is working properly. Updates must pass a battery of tests. These stages involve not only labor, skills but also time. It is only at the end of this long process that the final version of the Android update can be sent to users.
How does Treble work?
To facilitate the deployment of updates to its mobile OS, Google has introduced in Android 8 (Oreo) a new device called Treble. It is in fact a new implementation specially developed to reduce the programming work of manufacturers.
With Treble, Google decided to separate the mobile operating system (Framework) from the software layers of the manufacturers (HAL: Hardware Abstraction Layers). This will allow manufacturers, for example, to modify the Google interface without having to wait for the goodwill of suppliers of electronic components such as Qualcomm.
This better distribution of tasks should considerably improve the speed of deployment of updates. Note that this process is always subject to the goodwill of the manufacturers. This means that many low-end smartphones may not be able to take advantage of these upgrades.
Is my smartphone compatible with Treble?
Unfortunately the answer to this question is not as simple. Contrary to an old belief, not all smartphones with Android Oreo 8 are compatible with Treble. First you should know that devices with native Oreo (sold with version 8 of Android or higher) automatically benefit from this new device.
Phones shipped with Nougat or Marshmallow and not receiving any Oreo updates will not support Treble. Unfortunately there is no way around this measure.
If however your phone has been updated to Oreo, then things get complicated. Each manufacturer is free to add the Treble project. For example, the OnePlus 5T delivered with Nougat or the Samsung Galaxy S8 are not compatible with Treble.
To find out if you can take advantage of this new device, it is necessary to consult the detailed specifications of your smartphone on the manufacturer's website. There are also applications that can do this job in just a few seconds.
- Open the Google Play Store
- Download the Treble Check app
- Then open the app
- If the answer is Congratulations, the update system is active on your device
Treble Check is responsible for checking the compatibility of your smartphone with the Treble project. The application will check if your phone has two partitions. But beware, Treble support does not necessarily mean that your device will receive updates as soon as they are published.
Manufacturers are free or not to offer you a new version of Android. Changes to the framework and the testing work remain the responsibility of the manufacturers. These operations have a significant cost.