Infographic: How HMD updates Nokia phones to Android 9 Pie

Nokia smartphones gained a good industry-wide reputation when it comes to software updates. All of us that fellow the situation more closely Know that it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but in general HMD offers two years of software support (and 3 years of security updates) for all Android phones in their portfolio – from a 70 euro Nokia 1 to 750 euro Nokia 8 Sirocco.

The company also has procedures in place to deal with software updates. HMD’s Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas shared via Twitter an interesting infographic that gives an overview what steps need to be done for an update to reach the end customer. The infographic is long (18908 pixels in height) and shared as a PDF that can be viewed here. In a reduced, but still readable form, it follows down below.

I find it interesting to have an overview how the update process works in a broad sense. Some of the “Chef Tips” answer frequently asked questions, for example chip vendors have a prioritized list of chips that will First support a new update, so Android vendors can’t do much if Qualcomm or MediaTek didn’t do their part (they can stop using their hardware, but just in theory). We also learn that Nokia Beta labs have 120,000 members, which shows that a lot of Nokia phone buyers do follow the company’s effort online. It’s also mentioned that it is easier to release an upgrade in “non-operator” markets.

A question this infographic doesn’t answer, and a lot of Nokia users without Pie have been asking it, is when will my device get Android Pie. Well, the general answer is when it’s ready. This infographic shows that the process of pushing an update is lengthy and that it involves more factors than just someone inside HMD pressing a button. Updates are released in waves, and no precise timetable’s are given to avoid the problems that arose when a deadline is broken, like what it was the case with Nokia 8 and 8 Sirocco.

I like these infographics and hope HMD will make more materials like that, going even further into the technical details, especially if they plan to announce something new.