Published on: 19th Aug 2012
A team at the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) have announced an experiment
that could theoretically make it possible to load the latest version of the
Android OS onto non-Nexus handsets as soon as it is released.
Currently, most handset vendors make tweaks to the Android OS for their
handsets, which means they have to make those same modifications to every OS
upgrade deployed – leading to long delays in upgrades being available.
The lead developer, Google’s Jean-Baptiste Queru wrote a note on the
developer forum that he was kicking off an experiment, based on the Sony
Ericsson Xperia S, which he noted was a powerful smartphone from a supplier that
has supported the aims of the AOSP project.
The device was also selected because it comes with an “unlockable
bootloader” which typically makes it harder to deploy unauthorised versions
of the Android OS onto the handset.
It has been noted that if successful, and supported by more handset vendors,
it could see a move to a more uniform version of the Android OS on handsets.
