Despite the fact that Google launched Android 12 beta testing almost two weeks ago, there were not so many people who managed to install a test build. And the point here is not only in the restrictions set by the developer company, but in the fact that in order to install the beta version of the update, it needs a special adaptation for the shell. This is where all the problems begin – vendors take the time to optimize shells, test and debug. As a result, Google Pixel smartphones get the new version of Android first, and then everyone else. Let’s figure out when everyone else should wait for the update.
Android 12 for different smartphones will be released at different times
Where to get the desktop wallpaper from Android 12
Frankly speaking, manufacturers are slowing down the release of new versions of Android for their smartphones, not because they somehow do not respect their users especially strongly or divide them into flagship owners and state employees. It’s just that, as you know, all shells are quite different from the stock operating system from a functional point of view.
When my smartphone updates to Android 12
Android 12 will receive an unusually large number of smartphones, incl. old Galaxy
Therefore, it is not surprising that updates for non-pixel smartphones may come out in a month, or two, or even three. But since we have some experience of observing manufacturers, we can in advance formulate approximate update dates for different devices.
Samsung
- Galaxy S21 / Note21 – Dec-Jan 2021-22
- Galaxy S20 / Note20 – January-February 2022
- Galaxy S10 / Note10 – March-April 2022
- Galaxy A51 / A71 – March-April 2022
Oneplus
- OnePlus 8 / 8T – Oct-Nov 2021
- OnePlus 7 / 7T – February-March 2022
- OnePlus Nord – April-May 2022
Xiaomi
- Xiaomi Mi 11 – November-December 2021
- Xiaomi Mi 10 – January-February 2022
- Xiaomi Mi 9 – March-April 2022
- Redmi Note 9/9 Pro – March 2022
- Redmi 10T / 10T Pro – February-March 2022
Huawei – not updated
Vivo
- Vivo V20 Pro 5G – December 2021
- Vivo X50 Pro – February-March 2022
Material Next, game mode and more: what’s new in Android 12
Of course, the actual timing of updating smartphones may differ from those presented above. However, we formed them based on information from previous years and the practice of optimization by manufacturers of updates for their smartphones. Therefore, it is highly likely that Android 12 for the above models will be released around this time.
You may have noticed that more affordable and older models receive updates less frequently. It is widely believed that manufacturers deliberately postpone the release of new OS versions for low-cost devices, because in this way they want to emphasize their inferiority. Say, bought a cheap smartphone or didn’t buy a new product – sit and wait until your turn comes. But this is not the case.
Why Android smartphones are updated at different times
The delay in the release of updates in their case is directly related to the capabilities of the hardware. After all, if the flagship smartphone will pull all the new functions that the developers will build into the updated firmware, then the old device may not be able to pull it. Therefore, manufacturers have to test them longer and more thoroughly in order to prevent a mismatch between technical and software capabilities.
Cheap and older smartphones receive updates later than others due to the limitations of their hardware
Here, too, the shell plays a role, which is very different from pure Android. For example, Google considers it permissible to equip an old Pixel 3a with portrait support, despite the old hardware, but Samsung believes that some Galaxy S9 will not be able to pull this function, since it simply cannot take out the load with data that needs to be processed and compared in order to produce a photo with a blur effect.
Idle Update, or What’s Wrong with Android 12
So we gradually came to the dilemma of what to choose: pure Android or a shell. In the case of a stock operating system, you will almost always have earlier updates, high stability, and no internal conflicts between system components. However, the shell out of the box will almost certainly give you more opportunities, although it will sometimes sin with bugs and flaws that provoke conflicts like the one we described in this article .
