Google to Require Seamless Update System Beginning With Android 11

In non-COVID-19 news, Google is apparently going to start requiring manufacturers to implement its “seamless update” system beginning with Android 11.

Essentially, Android 11 will require devices to have a separate system partition that is an identical copy of the main partition. When an updated to Android is available, the update installs itself on the second partition. When that installation is finished, the phone is rebooted, and the secondary partition becomes the primary partition.

The intent here is to reduce the downtime that can come with some Android updates, as well as always having a good partition that can be booted to if an update goes awry.

The system partition, by the way, is apparently relatively small on a typical Android device–it clocked in at about 320 megabytes on the 2016 Pixel 1.

Leave a Reply