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Google recently launched Android 14, the new version of its operating system. And for Dave Burke, vice president of operating system engineering, one of his favorite new features of Android 14 is the optimization work his team has done, so that the OS is more fluid. As we mentioned in a previous article, Google has made Android more efficient. And moreover, the firm is committed to ensuring that with each new version of the OS, the performance of smartphones is improved.
Dave Burke was recently interviewed by the Android YouTube channel. And during this interview, he admitted that Google has not communicated enough about one of the major improvements that Android 14 will bring to user devices. On this new version, Google has significantly reduced background app activities. This reduces processor load and apps often start faster.
Google is committed to improving your smartphone
And the most important announcement from this interview concerns quality. Indeed, according to Burke, the Android team has made an internal commitment that each new version of the operating system will improve quality (instead of slowing down smartphones). In other words, if you have a smartphone running Android 14, it should be even more efficient next year thanks to Android 15.
To ensure that these commitments are respected, Android would follow a set of measurements, in the laboratory and in real conditions, to evaluate progress. On the other hand, the team that develops the operating system should also change the way it works.
“Even internally, we're looking at changing some of our development practices in 2024. Rather than going away for a year and working on one release for a very long time, we're breaking this up into chunks internally so that we were kind of keeping the branch green as we went along,” explained Dave Burke.
Devices that last longer
Google's goal today is clear: to ensure that you can keep the same smartphone for years. Previously, Google was singled out for the short lifespan of its Pixel smartphones. But today, the Mountain View firm has become an example. Indeed, during the launch of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, it announced that it will provide all updates (features, security and new versions of Android) on these smartphones for 7 years.
If Google respects its quality commitments, this means that during these 7 years, each new version of Android will improve the performance of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Furthermore, Google will also put pressure on other Android device manufacturers. Today, Samsung, for example, commits to updating its high-end models for 5 years. But the Korean giant could align with Google's practices, in order to remain competitive.
- One of the main new features of Android 14 is the optimization work made by Google to make smartphones more efficient
- And the firm is committed to ensuring that this type of improvement exists on each new version
- Google is also committed to update its Pixel smartphones over longer periods of time (updates which will now improve quality)
- Google is even considering changing the way its developers work on new versions of Android
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