Updating for updates

Will Google's new project solve one of the problems Android?

Updating for updates

The tale of updates is as old as the technology being updated itself. On the one hand, updates bring 'gifts': exciting new features that are destined to breathe new life into our devices, as well as the security policy updates needed to keep us safe from outside intrusion. On the other hand, for the 'postman' delivering updates, the new software is also a hypothetical opportunity to enter your 'house' without asking, take a metaphorical hammer, smash your device and turn it into a practically useless mess and leave with practically no trace, which can only be traced to the end of the warranty period.

Those who have experienced significant performance degradation, autonomy, or something more significant like a cyclic reboot after an update will no doubt understand me. Yet despite the potential risk we take every time we click install, buggy updates are a problem and affect almost every device we use on a daily basis.

My own experience with updates didn't go right from the start. At the end of a two-year contact with Verizon, an update came to my HTC Droid Incredible, after which the device regularly hung up, it was required to remove the battery and restart the smartphone. The issue could not be resolved after a series of factory resets and when I tried to contact Verizon and HTC the warranty was already running out. There was a sense of injustice, as it wasn't my fault that HTC and Verizon 'sent' an update that 'broke' my machine. But by and large, I had two options: either live with it, or buy a new phone.

A relatively recent example is my Sony Bravia TV based on Android TV. The first five months of owning it, I was very pleased with its work. Unfortunately my TV was upgraded to Android TV 6.0 earlier this month and overnight turned into a frustrating expensive black mirror staring at me in the living room. Yes, it works, but many of the obvious features (for example, adding sound without delays and stops in video and sound) are no longer available. The interface is so slow that I felt like I was using an alpha build of the software. I loved the ease of using the Sony Sideview app to control the TV without having to look for a remote. Now the app can no longer connect to the TV over Wi-Fi and identify it after I manually enter the TV's IP address. Factory reset didn't help.

At the moment, the question for me as the owner of this TV is whether Sony will release another update that will fix these problems. Or will I have to come to terms with the limited capabilities of the TV, for which I heartily paid?

The device manufacturer's dilemma

Updating for updates

The interesting thing about the defective update phenomenon is that it only appeared recently. On my desk is the original 1936 Remington Model 5 typewriter I regularly use, and unlike the TV I bought five months ago, this old device works as well as it did 80 years ago. Suppose the TV came with a warranty against manufacturing defects (I'm not sure if the machine had it), but it is in no way protected from software 'jambs' that have fallen on me as a user through the fault of Sony and other manufacturers since I started buy upgradable devices. The problem is that even if Sony sends me a new TV under warranty, this will not solve the problem: the new TV will still be updated to a defective build and there will be no sense. The user experience in this case is as negative as possible.

When updating complex systems (such as in a smartphone), almost always something breaks, does not work, or goes wrong in some way. In particular, in Android, the potential chance of error increases if the device does not belong to the Pixel / Nexus family. the update must go through 3 or more hands before leaving the loving 'hug' of the developers Android of Alphabet. I will not go deep into the update process, you are familiar with it, I will only say that as soon as the developers release a new version Android, it is transferred to processor developers, such as Qualcomm, in order to integrate with their processor. Once the process is complete, an update is sent to device manufacturers to ensure that it works with device-specific hardware, drivers, and software features, and then the update is sent to carriers (at least in the US) to ensure device stability. and its software in the operator's network.

Each additional step in the process adds to the likelihood that something will go wrong. It also creates a large delay between the submission of a new version Android to manufacturers and release directly to devices. First of all, the efficiency of the update process comes down to time and resources. A company with endless time and inexhaustible resources could release one flawless update after another. But in a world where manufacturers are forced to release new phones once a year (and sometimes more often) and stick to strict budget limits, time and resources are limited. Inevitably, something goes unnoticed and users have to endure the resulting bugs until they are fixed.

A quick fix is ​​almost always bad

So how do you fix the problem? If the device is based on a specific software build, then the manufacturer may not update it. This approach has its advantages, primarily in the fact that the device, like my machine, can continue to work as intended from the moment it left the factory. But this simple solution assumes that the software pre-installed by the manufacturer is devoid of its own serious bugs. The pros are balanced by cons, such as the increased vulnerability of exploits in unpatched software and suppression of their own OCD every time a notification about an update is popped up.

Another solution is to sell the phone and buy a new one. It goes without saying that such regular behavior is economically impractical. And by and large, these are not ways out of the situation. These are awkward workarounds for an unfair problem that the modern consumer has to face every day.

Treble is great

Recently it became known about one project, during the development of which Google will finally be able to solve one of the problems that leads to the mentioned problem. Or at least minimize the user experience harm of a defective update. The project is called Treble. At the highest level, the initiative aims to speed up the update process by reducing the number of changes and checks in each update. In fact, Project Treble divides the OS into two parts – the framework Android OS, which contains the updated code of the new version of the platform, and VI (Vendor Implementation), which contains the device-specific code from the OEM manufacturer. Instead of completely rewriting the VI for each device and for each version Android, manufacturers can quickly test the future compatibility of a device-specific piece of software and easily update the code Android on the device without having to bother with specific code.

Updating for updates

This means that Project Treble has a chance to reduce the time and resources required by manufacturers to release a stable update. The initiative also has the potential to reduce the amount of code that needs to be reworked and tested for each update, which further reduces the number of times something goes wrong. Be that as it may, now most of this talk is at the level of rumors, and the timeliness and security of updates mainly depends on the manufacturer. Even if the tools are in place to release timely updates, phone manufacturers can decide to reduce the cost of production by reducing the number of quality control services, negating the effect of reduced waiting times and the number of bugs thanks to Project Treble.

Conclusion

No matter how modern the opportunity to update devices is, the consumer's desire to always have the best and newest product is as old as the world. But the concept of a one-time, two-year life cycle for smartphones in particular has led the average user to simply accept bugs and defects as a harsh reality. All of us, with a high degree of probability, have learned to bypass the various problems that arise on our devices, this has become a common thing. But then every few years there is a short period of respite: we buy a new phone, the problems of the old one are quickly forgotten and the cycle begins anew.

This, of course, should in no way detract from a very real problem for those who do not have the opportunity to regularly buy new devices to get rid of a bad user experience. For these users, a two-year-old phone damaged by the final major upgrade can cause significant and unexpected expenses through no fault of their own. It is my sincere hope that all players in the update chain will feel it their duty to improve the quality of the updates they release. The time will come when the software on our devices, on which our communication and consumer habits depend, will work in airplanes, trains, cars, on which our lives depend. And that, frankly, is a little scary.

Original material by Trevor Newman

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