Google and chip manufacturer Qualcomm are working on improvements to the update process for Android devices. Thanks to changes to Project Treble, future Snapdragon SoCs should enable longer updates without adapting the chipset software.

Google explains the new features in a blog Entry. Accordingly, chip manufacturers no longer have to constantly adapt their future SoCs when new Android versions and security patches are released.

Project Treble Google introduced Project Treble 2017. The restructuring of the Android architecture should speed up the update process of Android phones. For this purpose, Google has introduced a “vendor interface” as an interface between the device-specific drivers and the manufacturer-independent Android system. Cell phone manufacturers can easily update the Android superstructure without having to modify the device-specific part – chip manufacturers like Qualcomm are responsible for this.

Since Project Treble, Qualcomm and Co. had to adapt their SoC individually to each software version. In the future, chip manufacturers, on the other hand, should be able to cover several Android versions with a single implementation, Google explains in the blog entry. Four Android versions and four years of security updates should be made possible. Because the delivery version of Android is counted, Google means three Android updates. Flagships from Samsung or Google’s Pixel phones are already promising this.

However, it remains to be seen whether the adjustments to Project Treble will actually have noticeable effects for users of Android smartphones: Ultimately, it still depends the respective smartphone manufacturers to provide their devices with updates – the built-in chips should, however, represent a minor obstacle in the future.

The innovations should be introduced for the first time with the Snapdragon 888 Move in, reports Ars Technica. They should also receive processors in lower price ranges, but devices that have already appeared do not benefit from it. It is unclear whether other chip manufacturers besides Qualcomm will participate.

(dahe)