Android

Android prepares to only support Seamless Updates, but Samsung could still avoid it

Ben Schoon | Feb 21 2024 - 12:45 pm PT

Android introduced support for Seamless Updates quite a long time ago at this point and, while it’s seen adoption from most, Samsung stubbornly refuses to move its devices to the A/B system. Android is now moving towards a future where A/B Seamless Updates are the only supported update mechanism, but that may not be enough to stop Samsung.

Seamless Updates, in brief, allow Android phones to install a system update in the background while the device is running and apply that update when the user reboots. While it can technically take longer, it drastically lessens the amount of time a device is not available for use, and also provides some safety mechanisms such as being able to revert the update is something goes wrong. Google has also made improvements over time, with Seamless Updates on Pixel getting significantly faster lately.

Samsung, though, has long held off on using the system. Even the company’s latest Galaxy S24 series still lacks support.

Android, though, may soon make it a little harder for Samsung to keep saying no. A new comment in AOSP sees Android preparing to remove support for “non-A/B” updates. In other words, only the various forms of Seamless Updates would be supported going forward.

As Mishaal Rahman points out, though, Samsung could still technically avoid using Seamless Updates. The company could develop its own update mechanism for use with its devices, or simply revert Google’s change in affected Android versions.

The only way for Google to actually force Samsung to use A/B updates would be to enforce it in Android’s compatibility requirements or through GMS licensing agreements for Google apps. The company did move for this back with Android 13, but ultimately didn’t follow through in making it a firm requirement, which led to Samsung still skipping Seamless Updates in its next Galaxy release.