Now that the official name of Android N has been confirmed to be Android Nougat, HTC has moved in swiftly to back the announcement it made earlier this year with respect to the new software coming to HTC 10, HTC One A9 as well as HTC One M9.
This is great news for any person using any of these three phones, however, it is nothing special as it was expected for the three to be updated with the OS. Usually, such software updates come to devices that are less than two years in the market. HTC 10 was introduced this year and in fact, it is the newest member of the three. As for the HTC One A9 and One M9, both were released last year, with the former being a follow up after the latter’s poor performance in the smartphone market.
What makes this announcement feel somehow interesting is the timing. While previous Android updates have typically reached HTC devices towards the end of the year, it seems this announcement is meant to mean that this year will see a slight change in things. Apparently, HTC is the only OEM to confirm the release of the new Android Nougat onto its phones. As a result, it could also mean that it will be among the first to avail the update to its flagships.
Of course, the tweet made by HTC did not confirm whether Android Nougat will be coming to HTC 10, HTC One A9 or HTC One M9 this year. But what would be the point of making an announcement at this time then wait for months before actually seeing it through?
HTC says that it will only avail the update to these devices once Google avails the Nougat AOSP code to OEMs. In addition, the company has promised to add more devices to the list. Even though it has been confirmed that HTC 10, HTC One A9 and HTC One M9 will be updated with Android Nougat, the fact that HTC One M8 is missing from the list is noticeable. This is despite the promise by HTC that it will be adding more devices to the list. As of now, the HTC One M8 is now over two years old, which casts everything regarding the possibilities of Android N updates into further doubt.
With Google expected to make Android Nougat official this summer, expect more of the same promises to come from other smartphone OEMs such as Samsung, LG, Sony, Motorola and many others out there.