In 2020, Google made a change to the Android 11 Vendor Test Suite (VTS), requiring all smartphones running Android 11 and above to support seamless updates. However, the company eventually backed down and left it as an optional feature. However, while phones from the likes of Google, OnePlus, and Motorola have long supported seamless updates, for some reason Samsung has been resisting it, even on its most premium smartphones. The latest on this list is the new Galaxy S22 series, which consists of the Galaxy S22, S22+, and the $1,200 S22 Ultra.
See also: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Learn everything about the new smartphone
For those who don't know, smartphones with seamless updates (or A/B updates) allow you to install system updates while you're using them, as opposed to the old-school method of having your phone sit idle while updates were installed. The feature was launched by Google in 2016 as an effort to make your software update experience better — and more secure.
See also: Samsung built a fingerprint security chip
Speaking of software updates, Samsung smartphones often enjoy being among the fastest to receive them. With the launch of the Galaxy S22 series, the company took things to the next level, promising four years of Android updates and five years of security patches for some of high-end . However, not all of them have this support for seamless updates, which means you'll have to wait for a few minutes while applying those updates, after which your smartphone will be unusable.
See also: Samsung uses plastic from recycled fishing nets in the Galaxy S22
Esper’s Mishaal Rahman notes that Google’s documentation still states that “Virtual A/B is a GMS requirement on devices shipping with Android 11 and above.” However, that doesn’t seem to be the case in reality, as Samsung’s S22 series arrived with Android 12 and still doesn’t have seamless support. All of the phones in the series — the S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra — are powered by chipsets that support virtual A/B updates, but it seems like it was Samsung’s decision whether or not to implement it, and they chose not to.
Information source: androidpolice.com
