Google, Qualcomm partner to bring 4 OS Android updates on new chipsets

3 years ago, Google announced Project Trouble, a major rebuild of Android designed to accelerate software updates. While the architecture introduced by Project Trouble has helped OEMs expedite the delivery of major Android OS updates and monthly security patches, it has had the opposite effect on SoC providers such as QQL. In fact, Trouble has really increased the complexity, and thus the engineering cost, associated with providing Android OS update support for any given chipset. Which Qualcomm has limited the length of support it can provide to its societies, but that will soon change. All Snapdragon SOC launches on Android 11 or later પ્રારંભ starting with Snapdragon 888, Qualcomm 4 will support Android OS version updates as well as 4-year security updates. This is an additional year than they previously provided for their flagship 800-series chipsets.

Today’s announcement is significant, but it cannot be understood without the background knowledge that Google tried to accomplish with Project Trouble three years ago.

Trouble has created a split between the Android OS framework (all UI code, API, and system processes in which applications interact) and device-specific, low-level software (internal Linux kernel and hardware abstraction levels, or HALs). Device-specific, low-level software speaks through a well-defined, stable vendor interface with the Android OS framework. Each Android OS version guarantees backward compatibility with vendor implementation, which is ensured through the use of the Google Vendor Test Suite (VTS), the standard compliance test suite. This means that, for example, the Android 11 OS framework is lagging behind with vendor implementations designed for Android 10. In fact, for each new Android release, Google publishes generic system images (GSI), source-built system images that are backward compatible with the last 3 versions of the vendor implementation. When an OEM builds a new Android device, they are free to introduce new proprietary features and APIs, improve the Android OS framework, but they must ensure that the device vendor implementation is GSI compliant.

Thanks to Trouble Architecture, the same Android OS framework code can be reused in various vendor implementations. It is “normal” in a generic system image. Source: Google.

This is primarily to reduce trouble fragmentation and speed up the delivery of new OS updates – while the Android OS framework (which is open source and provided by Google) and device-specific, low-level software (thanks to a stable vendor interface) Ideally, this means that OEMs can spend less time fixing hardware bugs on top of the latest Android OS releases and more time bolstering their system-level changes. Since then, Google says OEMs have embraced the latest Android OS faster than ever before. Google said, “When Android 11 was launched, there were 667M active users on Android 10 at the time, of which 82% were over-air (OTA). Got their Android 10 build by update. “

Android 9 Pi vs Android 10 vs, Android 11. Claim: Source: Google.

Because each new Android release supports more hardware features (the OS needs to support new features to keep up with the rapid progress of the mobile industry), Google needs to update the vendor interface for that release. The company defines new HAL requirements this way and commands new Linux kernel versions, but they only need devices Getting started With the release of the new Android OS to really support these vendor-effective changes. For example, if Google upgrades Android’s HAAL to support many rear camera sensors, newer devices with the newer Android version will have to support those updated HALs, while older devices upgrading to a new release will have to re-sell their old ones without this new camera. Can use HAL requirement. Bringing a new Android OS release to an older device – from an OEM perspective – reduces costs and complexity. The problem, however, is that this approach introduces additional complexity for sock vendors such as Qualcomm, MediaTek and others.

As a result of this design principle, Qualcomm and other SOC vendors will have to support multiple combinations of Android OS framework software and vendor implementation. An SOC vendor that supports 3 versions of the Android version of the OS for a specific chipset will have to support 6 combinations of OS framework software software and vendor implementation. This is because while OEMs can be overcome by reusing old vendor implementations to advance the requirements of the HL and Linux kernel versions, society vendors must ensure that their vendor implementation supports both old and new requirements. They like and dislike. Multiply by the dozens of chipsets to support the Sock vendor and you can see how the Tre Tre force has really increased the complexity for them.

It is for this reason that Qualcomm and other SOC vendors typically offer a maximum of 3 OS letter upgrades and 3 year security updates for just one particular chipset. Although I’m not private for a specific cost, I don’t think it’s financially feasible for social vendors like Qualcomm to support chipsets for longer than that. We’ve seen Qualcomm and other SOC vendors sometimes provide longer support, but to make it more economical it depends on OEM demand. If no such demand exists, then increasing the cost of development to bring a new Android release falls on OEMs – and that’s not an easy feat. But thanks to the combined efforts of Google and Qualcomm, the latter will now support 4, Android OS versions and 4 years of security updates for the preferred Snapdragon chipsets, starting with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 now.

To make this possible, Google has extended Project Treble’s “No-Retroactivity Principle” to SOCs in addition to devices. This means that the new HAL and Linux kernel version requirements are not a precursor to SOC. So, for example, an SOC starting with Android 11 (like the Snapdragon 888) could reuse the same vendor implementation to support Android 12 through Android 14. Thus, SOC vendors can develop a single board support package (BSP) for a specific chipset to deliver OEM, rather than maintaining multiple versions of BSP that need to be updated with each new Android release. On this particular chipset, the engineering costs associated with supporting Android are dramatically reduced, giving Sauce vendors like Qualcomm the ability to support their chipsets longer.

Google is also working with Qualcomm to further reduce the number of OS framework and vendor implementation combinations to support Qualcomm, to ensure that the latter re-uses the same OS framework software in the same QuickLip iM chipsets. SOC vendors are currently modifying the AOSP framework code and creating their own versions of common system images. For example, Qualcomms is called QSSI, while MediaTek is called MSSI. These SC-specific system images will now be guaranteed to be compatible with multiple chipsets as well as older vendor software, similar to Google’s AOSP GSI.

An imaginary software software support timeline for SOC vendors that has applied new no-retroactivity principles.

Devices with the Quick Luck Snapdragon 888 are expected to launch the Omi Mi 11 and Samsung Galaxy S21 series very soon. While we hope that Google and Qualcomm’s announcement means that all Snapdragon 888 devices will receive 4 years of Android OS and security patch updates, there is no guarantee that this will happen. OEMs still need to invest a significant amount to develop and deliver new OS versions – but it is now more likely that Qualcomm itself will be able to support 4 years of Android updates. It is hoped that one or more OEMs will take advantage of today’s announcement to announce expanded software support for their future flagship phones powered by Snapdragon 888. It is much shorter than the Apple Pal and is called many, many times correctly and will be called until the distance is shortened.

Speaking of other SOC vendors, Google is in talks with them to implement this new no-retroactivity principle so that they, too, can provide extended software support for their chipsets. We have no confirmation from MediaTek or other SOC vendors, but we see no reason why they shouldn’t be with this idea – at least for new chipsets. According to Google, they expect that most newly launched SOCs will benefit from these changes, so don’t expect any of your devices to have extended software support due to today’s announcement.

To better reflect where the changes will take effect, this article was updated on 12/16/2020 at 1:50 pm with the title “Devices” to be changed to “Chipsets”. Additional information has been added to the article courtesy of Google.