Google launched Project Treble to address the fragmentation in the Android ecosystem across different mobile manufacturers and devices. The project’s initial focus was on helping mobile manufacturers release updates more quickly. However, Google recently announced a new partnership with Qualcomm to develop and expand Project Treble to the SoC level.
Before Project Treble, Android was highly fragmented, with OS updates taking too long to reach users or not coming at all. This was because OEMs needed to invest time and money to change a new Android version with their customizations. Project Treble solved this problem, and the benefits are evident from the adoption rate of Android 10.
While Project Treble made moving Android OS updates easier for OEMs, SoC manufacturers struggled to build new chips to support multiple Android versions and their implementations. The partnership between Google and Qualcomm addresses this issue and extends Project Treble right down to the SoC level. This means that new devices will provide up to 4 years of Android OS upgrades (launch edition + 3 major updates) and four years of security updates with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoCs.
This is a significant improvement compared to the current 2-3 years of updates that are prevalent, and the advantages will start rolling out first on the Snapdragon 888 SoC that should power the 2021 flagship smartphones. If Android 11 is released on the phone, it will get Android 12, 13, and 14.
David Burke, vice president of Android engineering at Google, commented on the partnership, saying that Google continues to work closely with technology partners to increase the freshness of the Android ecosystem. Through this collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Android users can expect to have the latest OS upgrades and greater security on their devices.
Kedar Kondap, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. vice president of product management, expressed excitement about the partnership, stating that they are thrilled to work with Google to extend their support for Android OS and security updates on future Snapdragon mobile platforms utilizing the Project Treble enhancements. Through this collaboration, they expect accelerated Android OS upgrade on Snapdragon-based devices while providing a superior user experience for end-users.
