One key attraction of the Google Pixel line is Pure Android runs the show, which translates to a number of benefits and among them the promise of extended OS support beginning with the Android O rollout and the Google Pixel 2 release date.
Google is looking to provide better firmware support for the Pixel line and this purportedly was the driving force behind Project Treble that was just introduced alongside Android version 8.0 or Android O. Project Treble is the latest attempt by Google to fix the fragmentation that plagues the company's mobile OS. This was highlighted by the fact that Android O will soon replace Android Nougat but the latter is yet to be found on majority of Android devices.
With Project Treble, the design is to separate the mobile OS from the Vendor Interface, described by Android Police as "the part with all the low-level drivers and binary blobs." Once in effect, the project will eliminate the need for a mobile processor, Qualcomm or MediaTek, to first obtain driver or code updates from vendors, meaning more Android-powered devices will get new OS updates minus any intervention from chipmaker.
Another immediate benefit of Project Treble is its backward compatibility feature, which in theory the architecture will require no coding updates for every release of Android OS.
But the real game-changing feature of the Google project is the promise of extending OS support for Android devices. Such feature upgrade will make Android O, for instance, on par with iOS, which currently provides up to five years of firmware support.
At present, Google ensures that all if not most devices part of the Android ecosystem will get at least two major OS updates and up to three years of security patches. Android Police said this will change with Android O and Project Treble but to be clear nothing is written in stone on the specific improvements that can be expected.
And it's important to note that with the exception of Google Pixel phones, Project Treble will only apply on devices that came out of the box with Android O, thus eliminating the Samsung Galaxy S8 and other handsets that debuted before the deployment of Android version 8.0.
That might be some sort of a bad news but it gives one compelling reason for Android fans to get the Pixel 2 phones this year instead of the Galaxy or any other Android-based devices.