Some of Samsung’s older flagships have barely started receiving Marshmallow, but talks of an Android N rollout have already started. According to ‘insider sources’ cited by SamMobile, Samsung is targeting the fourth quarter of this year as the timeframe by which to rollout Android N-based updates to its current flagships. The company generally starts its Android version updates by December each year, but only in its home country, South Korea. Even then, the update process mostly drags on until next January. The multitude of variants and models that Samsung releases for each device, means that it takes the company several more months before it is able to rollout the latest versions of Android to all its premium devices everywhere.
However, this year, Samsung might just be able to actually finish the rollout by Q4 itself, seeing as Google is already releasing developer previews of Android N earlier than it did with Marshmallow or either version of Lollipop. The search giant is also likely to release the final stable build of Android N to its OEM partners much earlier than it has ever done before with any other version of Android in recent memory, giving them some much needed time to rollout the latest software to their respective devices in the market. Samsung has also refreshed and revamped its often-controversial TouchWiz UI, making it leaner and more intuitive, thereby getting rid of a lot of the bloat. So there’s much less software to code and test before unleashing it on unsuspecting masses, which should also help Samsung’s cause.
So while it is entirely possible that Samsung will indeed be able to complete the majority of its Android N rollout program for current flagships by the end of this year, it’s still a long way away from being an absolute certainty. Either way, SamMobile’s source also claims that the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge and Galaxy Note 5 will be the first in line to receive Android N once the company starts rolling out the new version of Android to its smartphones. Meanwhile, no Samsung tablet is scheduled to receive the new software this year, with the Galaxy Tab S2 scheduled to receive Android N only next year.