Android O Is Officially Launching August 21 (techcrunch.com)

Android O is set to arrive on August 21, with a livestreamed unveiling event timed for 2:40 PM ET in NYC -- which is roughly when the maximum solar eclipse is set to occur for New York. TechCrunch reports: Android O will get a full reveal at that time, which seems like kind of a weird time to do it since a lot of people will be watching the NASA eclipse livestream that Google is also promoting, or staring at the sky (with the caveat, hopefully, that they have procured proper glasses for safe viewing). Google says that Android O will have some "super (sweet) new powers," most of which we know all about thanks to pre-release builds and the Android O teaser Google provided at its annual I/O developer event this past May. WE know, for instance, that the notification panel has been changed significantly, and there's new optimization software to improve battery life on all devices. While Android O's name has yet to be confirmed, the official consumer name is speculated to be "Oreo." Prolific leaker Evan Blass posted a picture of an Oreo to Twitter on Friday following the announcement of the reveal date and event.

Comments

New Android

[Anonymous Coward]

Officially launching on less than 1% of all handsets.

Nougat 7.0 is on less than 7% currently.

Google still can't figure out how to make this work right after nearly a decade. Fully 93% of handsets aren't running the latest secure version and I don't see this changing with the next upcoming release.

Re:New Android

[sheramil]

I was hoping the "super (sweet) new powers" might include the ability to delete the bloatware, in particular the bloatware that is still forced on us but which is no longer supported or even has a server. Yes, Samsung, i'm looking right at you.

Re:New Android

[sexconker]

Google doesn't make the hardware, just the software. It's up to the phone manufacturers and carriers to get the updates out.

Microsoft doesn't make the hardware, just the software. It's up to the PC manufacturers and the ISPs to get the updates out.

Do you see how fucking retarded that is?

Google needs to provide the updates. Carriers need to fucking deal with the fact that customers don't want their bloatware. As far as firmware and drivers for specific hardware go, that shouldn't depend on or impact Android updates.

Re:New Android

[Lussarn]

Fully 93% of handsets aren't running the latest secure version and I don't see this changing with the next upcoming release.

Having the latest OS is not a requirement for having a secure OS. Several older OSes including Android releases are still receiving updates.

Re:New Android

[iampiti]

I don't think the part is referring to carrier bloatware but to manufacturer one. For example, Samsung, on unbranded phones includes several apps that can't be deleted and that may or may not want.
Also, many Google apps are also undeletable and I don't have any use for most of these (Google kiosk, movies ...).
I understand Google makes Android to promote their products on services on smartphones but I'd be nice if I could remove every non-essential app even if I had to pay some license or something for admin-enabled Android.

Re:New Android

[iampiti]

The minimum requeriments don't increase that much. The lack of updates is because it costs money (development, testing, certification) for the manufacturers and they don't think it's worth it. I'd personally pay more for a phone with guaranteed updates for say, 3 years, but most regular joes don't know or care which Android version they're running.
Also, SOC manufacturers have to support the new Android version on their hardware, else there's little the manufacturers can do.

Re:New Android

[squiggleslash]

The fragmentation issue has been dead now for several years if that's what you're complaining about. Yes, few phones have the latest version, but:

- Google has ensured all 4.x+ versions of Android have a common, full, API all programmers can code for.
- Google pushes out security updates at every level for them.

What are you missing by not having O on your cheap 2+ year old phone? The new features and UI of O, and nothing else. You still end up with the same apps, and the same level of security.

Re:New Android

[r1348]

Google releases monthly security updates for its Nexus and Pixel lines.

Re:New Android

[drinkypoo]

What are you missing by not having O on your cheap 2+ year old phone? The new features and UI of O, and nothing else. You still end up with the same apps, and the same level of security.

No, that's really not true. It rapidly becomes practically impossible to get OS updates for many handsets, and those updates include security improvements. If you're lucky enough to have a device supported by Lineage OS then you have a reasonable alternative to carrier- or manufacturer-provided updates, but many people haven't got one of those.

Re:New Android

[Kjella]

Microsoft doesn't make the hardware, just the software. It's up to the PC manufacturers and the ISPs to get the updates out. Do you see how fucking retarded that is?

Red Hat doesn't make the kernel, just distribute it with a few tweaks. It's up to kernel.org to get the updates out. Do you see how fucking retarded that is? Either you're a vendor and sell a product or you're a manufacturer and make a product. If you make a product, you're inherently responsible for that product in every way no matter how much of it is assembled from components and parts you've bought or licensed from others. If you buy a PC from Dell, it is Dell you should hold primarily responsible. If they choose to "pass-through" the OS support to Microsoft that's up to Dell.

If Dell is not happy with the way they're treated by Microsoft or Microsoft is not happy with the way they're treated by Dell, that's for them to sort out in the back room. I mean there has to be some reciprocity here, Dell can't just leave updates to Microsoft and next week Microsoft pushes an update that bricks everything. Microsoft can license their OS if they want, but they probably don't want their name on a product they can't update that will get 0wned by every script kiddie out there. Those are the terms between Microsoft and Dell though, the sale is between Dell and you.

Google has licensed Android as a component, an OS the manufacturers can tweak as they please and they have the responsibility for. It's worked wonders for capturing market share, so I think they're pretty happy with the way things are. It would be nice if they could push their own un-customized version as a required alternative though, say for example re-invent Android Nexus as a software option. No custom applications, branding or OS tweaks (though possibly custom drivers for the hardware) and updates direct from Google. Not sure the OEMs would go for making Google the new Apple though.

Re:New Android

[jareth-0205]

I agree sortof, but the security issue is a real problem. Security fixes are almost never backported to old versions. I'm fairly fine with saying "you bought your phone with this featureset, that's all you get", and given that major OS updates often slow the device down in some cases I'd prefer that, but when a security problem arises then that needs to be patched and there's no way of doing that without the latest newest OS release. Same problem with iOS really, if you have an old device you have to upgrade it or you won't get security patches, even if that also makes it unusable slow.

Desktop OSs have had multiple major releases getting separate security updates for ever - we need this on phones too.