Android’s Rolling Updates: A Blessing in Disguise?
If you followed Google I/O this year, you probably noticed something: the keynote didn’t exactly blow us away with a ton of new consumer-facing features for Android. I’ll admit, I was a little bummed at first. But after chatting with a Google engineer on the Android team, it all clicked.
Android doesn’t do updates the way Apple does. Instead of one giant annual overhaul, Google has been quietly rolling out new features and improvements throughout the year. Remember those Feature Drops? Yeah, those are kind of a big deal. Apple also does some form of spot updates throughout the year, but they aren’t really reliant on a specific schedule or load of feature updates. Moreso security updates. Also, Apple aligns there software updates with hardware announces to add more value to the purchase of a new Apple device. This is where Google has a more interesting dance to its updates since Android updates aren’t necessarily catered to specifically Google’s hardware. The do most of their selling of their hardware and software at their “Made by Google” events.
So, what does this mean for us Android customers? It means that by the time the next major Android version (Android 15, anyone?) officially drops, we’ll have already been enjoying many of the coolest updates for months. Why the change?
It’s all about keeping our Android experience fresh and exciting year-round. Plus, it gives developers more time to fine-tune features and squash bugs before they hit our phones.
Now, I know this might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Some people like the hype of a big annual update. But honestly? I’m starting to see the benefits of Google’s approach. It means our phones are constantly evolving and getting better, not just once a year.
With that said, you can checkout the list of all of the new features that’s being rolled out for Android today over at Android.com. What I’m most excited for is having the ability to edit messages after they’ve been sent in Google Messages, but there’s quite a lot.