Help System Updates

[Bill Luckie]

Who is responsible for System Updates? Phone manufacturer, Service provider, Google, who?

 

[Crashdamage]

For Google Nexus devices it is Google. For all others it is the manufacturer - except for devices that are further modified by service providers.

IOW, it goes like this:

New update > to Nexus > install or...

New update > to manufacturer > add customizations > install or...

New update > to manufacturer > add customizations > to service provider > add provider customizations > install.

 

[Bill Luckie]

For Google Nexus devices it is Google. For all others it is the manufacturer - except for devices that are further modified by service providers.

IOW, it goes like this:

New update > to Nexus > install or...

New update > to manufacturer > add customizations > install or...

New update > to manufacturer > add customizations > to service provider > add provider customizations > install.

Thanks. Just the info I was looking for.

 

[funkylogik]

Excellent explanation there Crashdamage mate

 

[scary alien]

Great info, @Crashdamage!

There is also a complicated "dance" that involves the the manufacturer, the carrier (service provider), and even the chipset makers. Here's a pretty cool page that highlights the process for some HTC devices that I'm pretty sure is representative of most devices (and helps to explain why it takes so long for an update to arrive (or be created at all)):

Awesome Infographic: HTC Shows Us “The Anatomy of an Android OS Update” From PDK to OTA

Cheers!