If you’ve ever wondered why it takes so long for you to get new Android updates on your phone or tablet, you might already know that even though an update has been released by Google – it doesn’t mean that it’s ready for your device. In an attempt to silence unhappy consumers about why it takes forever for an update to arrive, Motorola has written an informative blog post detailing the whole process of how the update arrives on your mobile devices.
Once Google makes the latest version of the Android source code available to the public, manufacturers (in this case, Motorola) will have to check to see whether it is compatible with its hardware. Once compatible, the companies then begin integrating their own software into the OS at this stage (i.e. apps like MotoCast, Smart Actions etc). The software is then stabilized and run through tests to get rid of bugs and so on. After that, the update is submitted to carriers for certification – this stage may take 1-3 months to complete, and once the carrier is happy with the update then it is only released.
On the manufacturer’s side it takes about 2 months to complete, so in total we can expect about 5 months before updates start rolling out. Obviously certain updates will be released faster – depending on the device, the manufacturer, and the carrier (notice how devices that aren’t bound to carriers usually receive updates first?). I guess this means we can only expect Ice Cream Sandwich for devices like the DROID RAZR and DROID BIONIC to arrive in April or May? Keep those fingers crossed.
Filed in . Read more about Android, Ice Cream Sandwich (Android) and Motorola.