Samsung Galaxy S8 owners have been able to sample the delights of the Android Oreo beta for the last couple of months, but that’s no good to the majority of patrons who’ll be waiting for the official launch.
So when’s that likely to happen?
Well, according to a Samsung UK support rep, there’s still a lack of clarity as to when everyone will have access to a completed consumer build.
As noted by SamMobile, the beta team rep said the final version “should be ready by 2018,” but was unsure as to when Sammy will push it out to all.
Related: Android Oreo 8.1 best features
The rep reckons it’ll be made available by the end of January, barring any unforeseen issues, or “maybe early February,” if something comes up.
Even when Samsung completes its work on Oreo, there’s still likely to be a gap while the respective mobile networks optimise it for their own experiences.
The third build of the firmware is currently in the hands of the testing community with Samsung’s rep saying v.4 is coming “very, very soon.”
Fragment this!
The news comes on the same week we learned Android 8.0 is running on a shockingly-low number of active Android devices.
As of December 11, only 0.5% of Android devices are running Oreo, several months after Google released the OS.
2015’s Android Marshmallow operating system leads the way with 29.7% of active devices while, remarkably, 2014’s Android Lollipop has more users (26.3%) than 2016’s Android Nougat (23.3).
Google is actively attempting to tackle the age-old problem of OS fragmentation with a new Project Treble initiative that’s designed to make it easier for updates to get from Google to users without too much manufacturer and mobile carrier faff.
Does Android fragmentation keep you loyal to iOS? Would you switch to Samsung if the Android updates flowed a little faster? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.