Google's Project Treble will help OEMs to deliver Android updates faster

One of the major problem with Android updates is that not all devices (non-Google device) receive it when the latest iteration is out. 

Google says there are several steps involved in the release of latest Android version, before it gets into the hands of the users. After the Android open-source code is out, silicon manufacturer (chip makers) have to modify the new release to make it run properly on their hardware, and then pass it to device makers, who have to again customize it for their own devices. And before the official roll out the Android release need carrier testing and certification, making the process time consuming.

Google wants to solve this problem with Project Treble on Android O, the biggest change to the low-level system architecture of Android to date. With Project Treble, Google re-architects the Android OS to make it easier, faster and less costly for device makers to update devices to the latest Android flavor.

One of the methods is to separate the vendor implementation— the device-specific, lower-level software written in large part by the silicon manufacturers (Samsung, Qualcomm) — from the Android OS Framework. 

"This is achieved by the introduction of a new vendor interface between the Android OS framework and the vendor implementation. The new vendor interface is validated by a Vendor Test Suite (VTS), analogous to the CTS, to ensure forward compatibility of the vendor implementation." said Google.

The benefit of Project Treble is that whenever the latest iteration of Android is out, device makers can choose to deliver a new Android release to consumers by just updating the Android OS framework, without any additional work required from the silicon manufacturers. As a result, device makers will be able to release latest Android versions faster for existing devices.

Project Treble will be coming to all new devices launched with Android O and beyond. In fact, the Project Treble architecture is already running on the Developer Preview of Android O for Google's Pixel phones.

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