Why It Will Take So Long to Upgrade Phones to 'Ice Cream Sandwich'

Ever want to know exactly why it takes so long to push the latest Android operating system release to your phone? Motorola and Sony Ericsson attempted to explain it on Wednesday.

On Nov. 14, the Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" code base to the general public, including manufacturers, which immediately began implementing it into their phones.

Tying the tablet and the smartphone together, Ice Cream Sandwich has been characterized as a landmark update to the Android platform, with an improved camera and the ability to monitor data usage, even by application. Motorola has said previously that the Droid Razr, Motorola Xoom, and Droid Bionic will all receive ICS updates; Sony Ericsson said that ICS will run on all 2011 Xperia phones. Neither manufacturer indicated by when this would happen.

"We are currently assessing this source code, and over the next month we will be determining which devices will get the upgrade and when — and we will communicate this as information becomes available," Motorola wrote in a blog post.

Both, however, seemed to be setting up customers for a long wait, given the explanation each gave to describe the process the code must go through. Most their top 2011 phones to the new Android 4.0/ICS release sometime next year.

Motorola described the process succinctly: it must merge and adapt the new release for different device hardware architectures and carrier customizations; stabilize and bake the release to drive out bugs; submit the upgrade to the carriers for certification; and then finally release or push the upgrade to customers.

Adapting the new OS to the hardware is jointly done by Nvidia, Qualcomm, and other component makers, and the work is brought back into the OEM developer cycle as it completes, Motorola wrote.

"This is also the time when we begin integrating all of the Motorola-specific software enhancements into the source code," it added. "Features like MotoCast, Smart Actions, and our comprehensive enterprise solutions are integral parts of our device experiences, and we want to make sure we continue delivering differentiated experiences for our consumers with these software upgrades."

Sony also explained in its own blog post that the certification process requires the most time out of all the steps.

"Contrary to what people may think, it is not the Bring up phase, but the Certification and approval phase that is the most time consuming process when it comes to getting a new software release out on our phones," Sony said. "This is one of the major tasks that are legally required from us as phone manufacturer, but is a task that the custom ROM community doesn't have to take into consideration. Furthermore, by putting all this efforts into testing and certification, we ensure that quality and conformance is at a top level, in benefit for all consumers worldwide."

Why? Because each component that is changed must be recertified. When a hardware component like a Wi-Fi chip is changed, that chip must be re-tested. But when the OS changes, all affected components must be recertified. Operators then may want to customize the software, and the OS must be localized for the market and language.

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