Google seems to have improved the speed of updates on its Pixel smartphones. According to Android Police, citing sources and user reports on Reddit, updates under Android 14 are reported to run significantly faster.
Users claim that the update to the QPR2 Beta of Android 14 was completed within a few minutes— one Reddit user mentions a timeframe of up to ten minutes. Typically, updates of comparable size can take up to an hour. While this process occurs in the background and the Pixel smartphone can still be used normally, the extended update times surprised some users.
An Android Police writer was able to confirm the quicker update time. Rumors suggest that Google has been working for some time to shorten the duration of background installations. It’s possible that a new mechanism is being used under Android 14.
Update doesn’t require a lengthy restart
Since 2016, Google has been using background updates for its Pixel smartphones. This means they no longer need to enter a special mode for updates where the devices can’t be used. With background updates, a Pixel smartphone remains usable during the update process.
Google uses two identical partitions for the simultaneous update; the update is applied to the inactive partition, and a restart boots this updated partition. So far, only Google employs this system, possibly due to the long update times in the background. Speeding up this system could make it more appealing to other manufacturers as well.
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