(ThyBlackMan.com) Android Q update is coming as a part of Google’s yearly Android update. If you remember, Google introduced Project Treble in 2017 and promised faster rollout of future Android updates. This year, the company launched Android 9 Pie and now, when the update is available on many high-end devices, Google has decided that it will let users try Android Q before its official release.
The Project Treble is Google’s ambitious project that establishes a strong base for smartphone manufacturers so they can quickly release Android updates as soon as they are available. The code developed by Google works on a separate framework so that the companies can update the operating system without having to wait for lower-level code updates which are done by vendors.
A talk session, during the Android Dev Summit, caught attention when developers discussed the Project Treble in depth and its impact on future releases. According to developers, some Android devices may get a chance to test the next version of the OS early via a GSI release. If you don’t know, Generic System Image or GSI is an image of Android framework. It is a super-stock image which is
based on AOSP and plays a major role in testing Treble compliance.
Google has not officially said that it will certainly bring Android Q on some devices, but the early availability of GSI images clearly means that Android phones may get stock ROMs based on these GSI images. Google has not confirmed whether it will release test updates before the official developer previews, so it is safe to assume that the things can go in either direction depending on the development cycle and several other factors.
During the event, Google’s developers didn’t specifically talk about the Android Q, but many relevant details were shared by Hung-Ying Tyan, a Google engineer. He said the company is exploring many ways to make GSI available earlier than the next Android version’s release. People will be able to try out it out early over GSI. This strategy will also help Google, as the company will be able to collect feedback from the smartphone community.
Google has confirmed that all devices that launch with Android Pie or later will be completely Treble-compliant. It means that these devices will take full advantage of the company’s Treble architecture and will receive faster upgrades. In an official blog post, Google said that the team of engineers will continue to work on GSI to make new versions of Android available early on all the Android 9 devices that are Treble-compliant. When it happens, developers will be able to start working on their apps without having to wait for the official AOSP release.
There are no official statements about what Android Q features will be available in the next Android update. According to developers, features like multi-resume will be one of them. At present, Google’s Android supports multi-window functionality, but in the future, multi-resume would be one of the major Android Q features on the list.
The multi-window feature allows users to access two apps using different windows, but with the next version of Android, people would be able to run multiple apps at the same time. It means that more than one apps will actually remain open at the same time. At present, only the current app remains active while the other apps are paused. You may have noticed such instances when you switch between apps like web browsers and social media apps like WhatsApp. When you move from one window to another, the app you leave is paused until you reopen it.
To use Android Q on your smartphone, you will have to wait for the official announcement from Google. If the GSI release happens anytime soon, and you have a Treble-compatible smartphone, you will be able to test the new version of Android before the official launch.
Staff Writer; Corey Shaw
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