Android N is set for a release later on this year. But when can the average Android user expect to get it? Let’s have a look
Google’s Android N update is now well into
its beta life. Plenty of Nexus users handsets have been road-testing
the OS for a couple of months now. The initial verdict is very positive
and there appears to be a lot to look forward to with the final build,
which should be with us some time in September.
Plus, Google got the Android N preview
builds out nice and early. This means the Big G’s engineers now have
plenty of time and feedback to work through before pushing out the final
build. The final build and all of its features will be officially
announced at Google I/O 2016, which kicks off on May 18 in California.
Android N Update: When Will YOUR Phone Get It?
As of right now, this is the Android N update schedule for Nexus:
- March: Android N developer preview 1 (alpha)
- April: Android N developer preview 2 (beta)
- May: Android N developer preview 3 (beta)
- June: Android N developer preview 4 (with final APIs and SDK)
- July: Android N developer preview 5 (near-final build)
- August/September: Final Android 7.0 AOSP build
Nexus is always first inline. This is why KYM has been recommending
Nexus handsets for years. If you love Android and hate bloatware there
really is no better handset. Last year’s Nexus 6P was superb in almost
every regard and this year’s Nexus 2016 phones — both of which apparently HTC-built — are shaping up to be utterly awesome, if present rumours are taken at face value.
But if you, like the majority of Android users, aren't rocking a
Nexus handset, well, you might just have to wait that little bit longer
for Android N to arrive on your device. The reasons for this are myriad.
Unfortunately, long delays on Android updates, even for flagship
phones, is a fact of life within the Android Kingdom.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at each of Google’s major hardware partner’s track-records with Android updates.
Samsung Android N Update
Being the biggest doesn’t mean being the best when it comes to
Android updates. Samsung has consistently been rubbish at getting
Android updates out in a timely fashion and we DO NOT expect that to
change with Android N.
It took Samsung five months to sort out its first Android Marshmallow
update last year, for instance. Android Marshmallow launched on Sept.
29 and Samsung pushed its first update out to the Galaxy Note 5
(Verizon) on March 3, 2016.
What does this mean for Android N? Simple: you probably won’t be getting it on your Galaxy S7 until at least Q1 2017.
HTC Android N Update
HTC did A LOT better than Samsung last year with updates; Android
Marshmallow landed on the HTC One M9 in December, just two months after
Google’s official release.
Unlike Samsung, HTC has A LOT to prove in 2016. The HTC 10 is up
against one of the strongest Android lineups in recent memory with the
LG G5 and Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 EDGE, so the company needs to ensure it
delivers the goods with respect to timely Android updates.
Best case scenario? The HTC 10 will be rocking Android N by December, just in time for Christmas.
BlackBerry Android N Update
BlackBerry was VERY slow with its Android Marshmallow update, but
seeing as the company is pretty much brand new to the whole Android
update saga, we’ll cut it some slack.
The company is more focussed on securing Google’s platform and
refining the overall experience of using the software on its current
PRIV model, which is fine — we like what they’re doing. A lot.
With this in mind, it is difficult to make assumptions about Android N
for the PRIV or, indeed, BlackBerry’s upcoming Android phones. It could
do a complete 180º and get the update out in double-quick time, which
would be awesome.
This isn’t all that likely though, so for now we’ll err on the side
of caution and predict a Q2 2017 release for Android N on BlackBerry
phones.
LG Android N Update
Like HTC, LG has been pretty good with its Android updates — the
company was the first, save for Google, to get a carrier version of
Android 6 out the gates. The first Android Marshmallow update landed on
the LG G4 in December 2015. The V10 and G3 received the same update in
March.
This means we could be looking at an Android N update for the LG G5 in December — and, early-December at that.
Huawei Android N Update
Huawei has come in leaps and bounds during the past 18 months. It was
also one of the first handset makers to get an Android Marshmallow
phone out — the AWESOME Huawei Mate 8 shipped with Android 6 during
November, just one month after Google released the software.
This puts Huawei in very good stead, as it is confirmed to be
updating its Mate line at exactly the same time this year — November. If
this happens, an entirely plausible potential, then Huawei would have
one of the first, save for Google’s Nexus phones, Android N phone on
market.
Expect the Huawei P9 and Mate 8 to get the same treatment during December at the earliest.
