Google forces phone manufacturers to provide faster updates starting with Android 13

Even though it’s been on Pixel phones since 2016, since the original model, Google will force phone makers to offer “Seamless Updates” only starting with Android 13. This type of updates uses two separate partitions for updates, allowing new software packages to be downloaded and installed automatically in the background without requiring direct action from the user, of course, there are other advantages as well.

Android 13 phones will be able to download and install updates in the background

All phones that will be released from the factory with Android 13 and are licensed for Google Mobile Services will need to enable Seamless Updates. Google has been developing this type of updates for many years, and Pixel users have always had this functionality, which saves time while also allowing the ability to recover software in the event of a problem.

There are virtual A/B partitions in software. The new update is downloaded to one and then installed on the other. If the installation fails the partition can be recovered from the one that is still functional. Furthermore, you don’t have to wait for the actual installation and waste time installing updates. The phone only requires a reboot, as the new software is already installed on one of the partitions.

This feature was available to manufacturers, but most didn’t bother to adopt it as long as it wasn’t mandatory, as it would have required extra development time. Now, however, companies will have no choice but to integrate this functionality if they want to offer Google Mobile Services on their Android 13 devices.

Thus, updates on new phones that will be released, most likely from 2023, will offer a more pleasant update experience. Now all that’s left for Google to do is fix the problem of slow updates on Android phones. In recent years, companies like Oppo or Samsung have started rolling out new Android on the latest phones in their portfolios 1-2 months after the official launch, but it still takes a long time for the update to reach older models or lower ranges.