Project Treble – Google and Qualcomm promise extended upgrades for new Snapdragon chips

Project Treble – Google Android and Qualcomm have announced a collaboration to support four Android OS versions and four years of security updates for all Snapdragon platforms using the Project Treble enhancements. The first chip is its Snapdragon SD888 for high-end flagships.

Before Project Treble the Android OS went through several stages before rolling out to users.

A major hurdle was the manufacturer’s lower-level code to ‘tweak’ the device’s capabilities. Qualcomm is the first to design Project Treble into its chips so that Google can do the over-the-air update.

It started two years ago. In essence, it means Android is becoming a modular base. Manufacturer’s lower-level code, loaders and User Interfaces are separate from the main Android operating system. The result is that the OS and security patches are installed without breaking the manufacturer’s customisations.

The Google Android blog announcement is here, and the Qualcomm is here.

GadgetGuy’s take on Project Treble

Project Treble is unscrambling the Android omelette.

Android’s Achilles heel is fragmentation and the legion of highly insecure orphans – phones and devices never updated.

What this announcement achieves is nothing short of amazing – the end of its one major weakness.

Let’s just say that it presents a compelling reason to buy an SD888 now or newer System-on-a-Chip (SoC) in 2021+. No longer will we be at the mercy of the manufacturer or carrier for OS upgrades and security patches.

And Google is just doing what Microsoft has done with Window 10 and Apple with Mac and iOS.

I am sure other major ARM SoC makers will follow Qualcomm’s lead.

It also sets the discussion about how long a mobile phone should last. OK, that is now four years, and most will be happy with that.

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