For Pixel smartphones, Android 13 is currently rolling out, and OEMs are striving to update their devices with the newest version of Android. However, it appears that in order to be granted a GMS (Google Mobile Services) licence, these businesses will need to implement the “Continuous Updates” functionality for new devices that come pre-installed with Android 13. One significant OEM that hasn’t yet implemented seamless updates to its smartphones is Samsung. It’s important to note that this function has been accessible ever since the 2017 release of the first Google Pixel smartphone.
As stated in a blog post Mishal Rahman, senior technical editor at Esper, claims that the virtual A/B command in Android 13 would enable seamless updates on more devices running Google’s Android operating system. Android shuts down and boots into a special recovery environment to deploy the update on non-A/B systems. OTA updates are downloaded and installed in the background when Android is running in A/B format. The OS update is finished after a brief reboot.
The user’s ability to pause or restart updates at any time is another advantage of seamless updates. Additionally, you receive a “failsafe” option that lets you revert to an earlier OS version if an upgrade goes wrong. These are some of the improvements Google made to the first-generation Pixel smartphones after they were released, all while reducing some drawbacks. Installing security patches on your smartphone is now more crucial than ever to protect it against sophisticated cyberattacks that target known flaws.
A/B updates, according to Rahman, are preferable to non-A/B upgrades. The drawback is the significant storage space needed to deploy OTA updates. He continues by explaining how a “virtual” A/B system fixes the storage issue. When applying OTA updates, the storage needed is greater than the non-A/B option, but it is still lower than the storage needed for an A/B system.
Samsung is not yet widely used. for its cellphones, ongoing updates. Samsung will have to execute the seamless upgrade as soon as it is rumoured for its Galaxy S23 smartphone series if it becomes required. The South Korean manufacturer has improved its track record when it comes to software updates, releasing updates to its smartphones, particularly the flagship models, on a regular monthly basis.
