Android 11 Update Requires New Rules Puts Samsung Smartphones Under Pressure

With the release of Android 11, Google is introducing new update guidelines that all manufacturers must adhere to. Samsung, in particular, is under pressure due to the innovation.

Once a month, Google publishes a security update for current Android systems that close newly discovered security gaps. Smartphone manufacturers whose cell phones run on the popular Google operating system have to adapt the update to their devices in a timely manner and also make it available to users.

With the release of Android 11 this year, Google is now making “seamless updates” a requirement, as reported by the Googlewatchblog. In contrast to classic updates, which are actively initiated by users, the “seamless updates” run completely in the background and do not require a restart of the device.

Samsung: Galaxy smartphones have to support new update requirements

The seamless updates have been available since the release of Android 7, which appeared around four years ago; however, the update mechanism, although recommended by Google, is only optional to date. This changes with Android 11: Manufacturers who want to equip their devices with the new Android version must support the new update form. While many smaller manufacturers already support the seamless updates, Samsung in addition to Huawei could stumble through this innovation, because none of the widespread Galaxy smartphones supports the new update form so far. So far, Samsung users have had to manually initiate updates, which will restart the phone and make it unusable for some time. These aspects are to be eliminated with the new update variant and the smartphone should also be ready for operation during a software update.