Google has no new Android fragmentation chart, so what? Updates have never been faster…
Back in the spring, there was a brouhaha that instead of the monthly version distribution charts, there was nothing posted for five months, then on May 7 Google updated it, and it is still waiting to be refreshed six months later.
May 7 is the last time we got an Android version distribution chart, and that’s OK
Alternatively, Google may have just switched to a bi-annual Android version numbers distribution reporting. Why? Because updates are now happening in a record fast manner, and Project Treble is finally giving fruit.
Ahead of I/O 2017, the Android household announced Project Treble. Touted as the biggest change to Android’s system architecture ever, the undertaking separates the low-level code written by SoC manufacturers like Samsung and Qualcomm from the Android OS codebase. This is the very basic gist of it, and the result is that device makers can now deliver updates by updating only code relevant to the OS without further work needed from the silicon slingers.
Samsung Galaxy S10 Android 10 update
Last year, Google released the final Android Pie version to manufacturers at the end of August, the 9 Pie beta was served to the US carrier models in November, and the actual Android 9 Pie came to Verizon, T-Mobile and other carrier models at the end of January/beginning of February. It was not an exceptional year in that regard, as we are used to Samsung’s Galaxy S series carrier models getting the newest Android version as far out as six months after its release.
Huawei P30 series Android 10 update
All in all, we are seeing an unprecedented speed in everyone getting their popular phones up to the newest Android version this year, and Google may have simply concluded that this will be the future going forward, so monthly updates of the version distribution charts will be becoming less relevant than before, what do you think?