In contrast to iOS devices, which constantly nag users to update, Android phones have always taken a more hands-off approach to new version releases.
But it appears that Google is introducing an Android feature, or more precisely, mandating an existing functionality across all Android phones, that will make updating your smartphone much simpler. In a blog post on Esper, well-known mobile app developer Mishaal Rahman claims that Google will mandate the use of its Seamless Updates feature beginning with Android 13.
Thanks to Android’s Seamless Updates feature, you may get the latest version of the operating system without having to put your phone into recovery mode for a long period of time (well, except for a brief moment while it restarts).
Though the capability has been available on some Android devices for some time (including Google’s own Pixels), several manufacturers have chosen to forego implementing it. This, however, is about to alter.
Starting with Android 13, manufacturers who develop their own OS (like Samsung’s One UI or OnePlus’ OxygenOS) must enable seamless background updates. In theory, every new Android phone would have this function.
This would make updating Android phones much more convenient, which would hopefully lead to more people doing so. The inconvenience of having to wait for the update to finish downloading is a major deterrent for many smartphone owners, who therefore miss out on the latest improvements and security fixes that come with updating to the latest version of the operating system.
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If this feature of Android 13 is implemented, then future updates to Android may not even require any user action, which is great news for those who are constantly on the go.
Since updating to newer versions of iOS can be annoying, Apple could take a cue from this and implement a similar process there.
Products from the corporation are notorious for constantly prompting you to upgrade, even going so far as to say that they will do it automatically when hooked into a power source while you sleep. Furthermore, iOS updates can often take inexplicably long to get out.
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Apple should follow Google’s lead in simplifying upgrades; the company’s persistent reminders help customers install the latest iOS version swiftly, but there must be a less intrusive approach to keep the best iPhones up to speed.