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“When is my phone getting an Android update” is the most frequently asked questions by most Android users I know. My journey with Android started back in 2010 with a Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 which was bought after a lot of research. The device ran Android 1.6 (Donut) and Sony had pushed an Android 2.1 (Eclair) update right before I bought it. The new features that the update introduced were amazing, I was happy with my purchase. After a couple of months, Google had announced Android Froyo 2.2. I impatiently waited for Sony to push an update. Time passed and Android 2.3 was launched and still no there was no word from Sony about my Xperia X8. After a while Sony announced that they have stopped support for the Xperia X8 and the phone will be stuck on Android 2.1 Eclair. I was heartbroken, my first Android phone was now stuck with an outdated OS.
I tried to accept it, thinking it won’t matter much and boy was I wrong. The Google Play Store soon had apps which needed at least Android 2.3 to install, and the ability to transfer apps to SD was something much needed as the app size kept going up. After getting fed up, I picked up a mid-range Sony Xperia P because of my intense love for Sony phones at the time. It ran Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread while the others were already running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) ICS. The updates did come slowly and Sony pointed the finger at their customizations for the delayed updates. The Xperia P was updated to 4.0 and ultimately to 4.1.2 and that was it. I was disheartened that a mid-range phone couldn’t guarantee me latest Android updates.
So, when the time came for me to update to a new phone, I knew it had to be a Nexus! The Nexus lineup were the only devices that got uncustomized updates from Google the moment they were launched. The Nexus 5 is what is my primary phone today, and it already had 3 updates smaller point updates since I bought it. More importantly, it will certainly run the big OS update Google will announce this year.
The quick Nexus updates made me wonder, what has been the trend for Android updates of some popular phones in the past?
So after days of research and searching, we compiled a timeline. The results give will give you an idea of how Android smartphones have got updated in the past.
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