Android Oreo may mean longer wait for updates in China

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With a video making fun of the total solar eclipse in the US, Android 8.0, nicknamed Oreo, was launched featuring new features, a faster system and a safer environment.

But when will Chinese Android fans actually see the new OS version, especially since so many of them are still using the "bad old" Android 6.0?

Numbers talk

According to statistics from Chinese Internet giant Tencent, less than 10 percent of Android phones in China are running the relatively new 7.0 OS.

They haven't even updated to the last version yet, so how is it possible to jump directly to Android O?

Android version distribution in China in last month. /Tencent Photo

The majority of Android phones in China are running the 6.0 and 5.1 versions of the system, both of which were released in 2015.

A more disappointing number is the Android phones still running 4.4, born in 2013.

Most Android phones around the world run 6.0 (32.3 percent) and 5.1 (21.8 percent), while only 13.5 percent of users managed to update their gadget to the latest software.

Global Android version distribution. /Google Photo

Phones running old software tend to be more vulnerable when it comes to hacking and fraud, not to mention mobile app developers who have to cope with so many different versions of systems.

The "fragmentation jungle" of Android is still big trouble.

Is there a way for Google to force an update? It depends on the support of phone makers.

A local way out

For Chinese makers, of course, following a company that has quit the market is a bad idea.

Most Chinese brands have their own engineers to "customize" the open-source Android for their users.

Mobile payments, one-tap-to-copy for SMS verification codes, local cloud storage...the things Google doesn't know about China are the battlefield for local developers.

MIUI allows installing two copies of one app on the same phone. /Xiaomi Photo‍

Years of competition has helped local Android variations, like Xiaomi's MIUI and Huawei's EMUI, to evolve to a Chinese system that Google can't recognize at first sight.

EMUI has its own theme engine. /Huawei Photo

So, the version of Android may not be so important to Chinese users anymore.

Because during the wait for Android O, more customized features are being developed and updated to their phones.