While there are many great features to count them among the biggest launches of 2018, Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are now found to debut in the market with out-of-the-box Project Treble support. The support for Project Treble on the new Samsung flagships suggests that both will receive faster Android updates over their predecessors. Google announced Project Treble ahead of releasing Android 8.0 Oreo last year to enable a vendor interface to speed up the software update process for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Newer Pixel models, including the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, already included the new development, while it doesn't come on handsets such as the OnePlus 5T and Nokia 8 that received Android Oreo updates recently.
As SamMobile reports, Samsung will leverage Project Treble support on the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ to release Android updates quickly without anticipating the participation of chip manufacturers, such as Qualcomm in the US market, to add their software tweaks. From a user point of view, the latest move means that the new Galaxy models could receive new Android versions at a faster pace than ever before. It is also likely to help Samsung improve its brand image as the company is so far highly infamous for delaying new Android updates even for its flagships. The Android Nougat-based Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ only received an Android 8.0 Oreo update earlier this month - almost 11 months after their launch that took place in March last year. That update was also halted for a few days due to "unexpected reboots".
Project Treble, which was announced last year, is aimed to uplift the adoption rate of Android by speeding up the update process. It is designed to allow OEMs to update their devices to the latest Android software, without implementing any major changes. Google has essentially separated the vendor implementation, including the device-specific, lower-level software written largely by chip makers, from the core Android OS framework. This makes it easier for OEMs to push Android updates shortly after Google releases new software versions from its end.
In August last year, Google engineers on an Android Developers Backstage podcast episode confirmed that they are working with OEMs to bring Project Treble to a mass level. But companies, including HMD Global and OnePlus, lately refused to provide Project Treble support on their existing models.
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