Upcoming Snapdragon-powered Android phones can get up to four years of security updates

Google's Project Treble is a modular redesign of Android's low-level system architecture to make it easier for phone manufacturers to update their devices with the mobile operating system's newest version. This program, which launched back in 2017, gets an update with a new partnership between Google and Qualcomm. The two companies will collaborate to improve Project Treble while simplifying the update process for Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered devices.

Google and Qualcomm say that by working together, they can reduce the time and resources manufacturers need to invest when updating their smartphones to the latest Google software, which will extend the lifespan of their products. So, future Snapdragon-equipped smartphones will get up to four major Android platform upgrades and four years of security patches. This upgrade will include the version of Android your phone comes with, so the high-end phones get an extra year of security updates while receiving the same amount of OS upgrades as Pixel phones.

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OnePlus starts rolling out Project Treble support for 5 and 5T smartphones

Promised earlier in the year, OnePlus is finally bringing support for Project Treble for both the OnePlus 5 and 5T. This software update (OxygenOS 5.1.6) is rolling out in stages and should be making its way to all devices in the coming days. Project Treble is a feature made by Google to make it easier for manufacturers to develop and release software upgrades to supported devices. The feature separates the framework of Android operating system from the system images of the chipset vendor, allowing Google to distribute OS upgrades without waiting for these chipset manufacturers to modify their system images.

Aside from bringing Project Treble support, OnePlus is also bringing in the October 2018 Android Security Patch, which fixes vulnerabilities found in the Android OS, and an instability fix for the Bluetooth connection on the phones. For the Indian carrier IDEA, the 5 and 5T also get VoLTE service support.

Source: Android Headlines

OnePlus 3/3T and 5/5T won’t support Project Treble

We know that Android 8.1 Oreo is coming to both the OnePlus 5/5T devices as well as the OnePlus 3/3T. The latter is especially welcome news. There is no specific time table for the updates yet. But we find out more information about it. One of the newest pieces of information we got is that the company will not support Project Treble, a feature that aims to bring faster updates to Android devices. This does this by separating the operating system code from the vendor code, letting vendors push key OS updates to the phones without the need to re-optimize their own codes. OnePlus Staff Member Adam Krisko, who was doing an AMA on the OnePlus Forums, broke the news but he didn’t say why they didn’t intend to support Treble for these devices.

Source: Android Authority

Engineers of Android O to hold Reddit AMA

The engineering team behind Android O is giving fans and everyone else a chance to ask their burning questions ahead of the public release of the new Android mobile operating system at an upcoming Reddit AMA. The page is already up and it makes it clear that the engineers will only answer questions related to the engineering of the OS and not whether Android O stands for Android Oreo or something. We can expect them to be asked about Project Treble, though, which is seen as the company’s way to reduce fragmentation between Android devices made by different manufacturers. Theoretically, it’ll let companies update Android devices quicker without having to go through their chip partners. Google has previously said new devices coming out with Android O out of the gate get full Project Treble treatment.

A new developer preview of the OS is expected to come out ahead of the official release of Android O before the end of September. If you’re interested in the AMA, it’s going to start on Wednesday, July 19 at 12:00 PM PST (3:00 PM EST) and will continue for an hour and a half.

Source: Android Authority