We’ve reached out to every single major Android hardware manufacturer and asked them when they’ll update their devices to Android 8.0 Oreo.
Google released Android 8.0 Oreo, the latest version of the smartphone mobile operating system, in August 2017. A few devices have received the update, but many haven’t. As a general rule, if your phone was made in the last two years, there is a good chance you’re in luck — though every manufacturer is different and it depends on which device you own. Before Android 8.0 Oreo broke cover, 7.1.2 Nougat was the latest version of the platform, and it’s still unavailable to a vast majority of phones. That didn’t stop us from posing the question of if and when devices will receive 8.0 Oreo to all of Android’s major manufacturers. Here is what each had to say.
Alcatel’s track record with Android updates is unfortunately spotty, and at the moment, there’s only one phone we expect to receive Android Oreo: The just-released Idol 5S. The Idol 5S is currently Alcatel’s only product running 7.1.1 Nougat. The company’s lower-priced handsets, the A50, A30 Plus, and A30, all launched with 7.0 Nougat. Alcatel also promised to eventually deliver Nougat to last year’s Idol 4S, which launched with Marshmallow.
We reached out to TCL, the company that owns Alcatel, regarding its update road map. The company had nothing to share, though we’ll update this article as soon as we receive an answer.
Asus has confirmed to Digital Trends that the ZenFone 3 and ZenFone 4 series will receive Oreo by the second half of 2018. Although the company isn’t the quickest with updates, it did eventually follow through on its promise to bring Nougat to the ZenFone 3 series, so it’ll likely do the same here — just be prepared to wait a while. Part of the delay is likely due to the company adding its ZenUI skin over the operating system, which will reportedly see an upgrade to 4.0 for Oreo.
Asus phones confirmed to receive the update:
TCL, which works with Blackberry to manufacture its devices, has confirmed it will update the KeyOne to Oreo. There’s no word on precisely when that might happen, but the version of Nougat on the device is pretty light and faithful to stock Android, so hopefully, the company won’t have to make too many customizations that would delay development. As far as the company’s other phones are concerned, no announcements have been made at this time, so we’ll have to wait and see.
Blackberry phones confirmed to receive the update:
The most talked-about smartphone startup has only got one phone — the Essential PH-1 — and it launched with version 7.1.1 Nougat. We’ve received confirmation that Essential Phone will receive an Oreo 8.1 update.
While the company initially planned to update the Essential Phone to Android 8.0, it noticed some stability issues while in beta. The company will begin rolling out an Oreo 8.1 beta in February to customers enrolled in the beta program. Keep in mind, as with any beta program, you may encounter bugs and other issues with a beta build.
Google’s devices are usually the quickest to receive every new Android version. In keeping with the company’s 18-month support policy, four Google devices were the first to receive the Oreo update: The Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 6P, and Nexus 5X. All four devices have already received the update. This will be the final major update for the Nexus line. The company’s latest Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL shipped with Android 8.0 Oreo.
Google phones confirmed to receive the update:
HMD Global, the company responsible for producing Nokia’s Android phones, has announced that it will update three of its devices — the Nokia 6,5, and 3 — to Oreo by the end of 2017. Another device, the Nokia 8, has already received the update. During a Nokia 8 launch event in the Philippines, the company said it would support every Nokia-branded phone in its portfolio for two years from release.
HMD Global phones confirmed to receive the update:
Honor has announced that a few of its recent devices will indeed be updated to Android Oreo. Recently, the company pushed a beta upgrade to the Honor V9 (which is the Honor 8 Pro in the U. S.). The company’s CEO also confirmed that both the Honor 8 and 8 Pro would get the Android Oreo update. A recent tweet from Honor India, however, said the Honor 8 will not receive the Oreo update “due to hardware and software limitations.” We reached out to Honor for clarification and the company provided Digital Trends with this official statement on January 30:
“To ensure Honor 8 users also benefit from the latest user experience upgrades, new functions of EMUI 8.0 will be ported to the Honor 8. Further update details will be released within one week. Please stay tuned and we thank you for your support and interest in Honor.”
We expect that the update will also come to the Honor 9, though that has yet to be confirmed. The recently launched Honor 7X and the View 10 are expected to get Oreo soon.
Honor phones confirmed to receive the update:
Historically, HTC has been one of the most conscientious original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) where updates are concerned. This year, however, things might be different. The HTC U11 was one of the first non-Google devices to upgrade to Android Oreo. HTC has confirmed that the U Ultra and HTC 10 will also get the update, though it hasn’t given specific dates for those updates just yet. The budget HTC U11 Life has also received Oreo, and the HTC U11 Plus launched with the latest version.
HTC phones confirmed to receive the update:
Huawei has yet to confirm which of its phones will receive Oreo and hasn’t responded to our request for comment. We expect to see an update for the Mate 9 and P10, which launched with Nougat, sometime in 2018. But beyond of those two, it’s hard to say what the company’s plans are at this time.
The wait might be drawing to a close, though. In early October, Huawei launched a limited Oreo preview program for Mate 9 owners who don’t mind putting up with a few bugs. It only had 250 slots, though, and they were randomly selected — you had to put your name in the proverbial hat for a chance at the beta.
When the update does launch, it will likely launch in tandem with a new version of Huawei’s user interface, EMUI 8. We expect the P10 and P10 Plus to also get this update. Right now, only the Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro have the EMUI 8 and Android 8.0 Oreo update.
Lenovo’s phones are also set to get an Android 8.0 Oreo update. The company recently updated its Android update schedule to include some phones in the K series, but the company’s schedule says that it won’t happen until June 2018.
Lenovo phones confirmed to receive the update:
We’re still waiting to hear what LG’s update roadmap looks like. Last year’s LG V20 was one of the first devices to launch with Nougat. Unfortunately the LG V30 didn’t have the same honor this year, but LG has launched an Android 8.0 beta for some users in Korea, so we expect to see a much wider beta release in the near future. The company’s other flagship, the G6 will also certainly receive Oreo down the line; and while the G5, LG’s failed modular phone, is still within LG’s two-year update window, the company hasn’t confirmed that it’ll get it.
We’ve reached out to the company for clarification, and we’ll update this report as soon as we hear more.
While Motorola isn’t quite as timely with its updates as it once was, the company is still pretty transparent about its plans and is one of the better manufacturers regarding new versions of Android.
In September, Motorola announced which of its phones would get an upgrade to Android 8.0 Oreo. It didn’t commit to a timeline but said that device owners could expect new firmware “this fall.”
Not every phone will make the jump, unfortunately. The Moto G4 won’t get Oreo, and neither will the Moto E4. Initially, Motorola refused to commit to updating the Moto G4 Plus — despite promising in the phone’s marketing materials an upgrade to “Android O.”
“It’s our general practice for the Moto G family to get one major OS upgrade per device, so it wasn’t originally planned for Android O,” a Motorola spokesperson said in a blog post .
