Android N borrows Chrome OS code for “seamless“ update installation

We go on a deep dive into Android's new Chrome OS-inspired partition system.

Read the whole story

 

[mewmew]

This sounds like it might make rooting a more difficult thing to accomplish.

 

[Deleted member 174040]

by Ron Amadeo - May 18, 2016 12:55pm CDT

Ron is live-blogging Google I/O and publishing articles at the same time.

 

[deanrozz]

Updates, once they are created by your OEM, approved by your carrier, and downloaded, will now be applied "seamlessly," just like on Chrome OS.

What's "seamless" about still having to wait for OEMs and carriers?

 

[afidel]

deanrozz[/url]":18vrgidk]

Updates, once they are created by your OEM, approved by your carrier, and downloaded, will now be applied "seamlessly," just like on Chrome OS.

What's "seamless" about still having to wait for OEMs and carriers?

Amen.

When I read dual partition and seamless upgrades I was hoping they had separated the OS from the drivers ala the Windows HAL.

On the plus side this plus the JIT improvements might mean that monthly security patches no longer eat 50% of a full battery...

 

[Monocasa]

> Today on Android, if something goes wrong during an update, you've ruined your only copy of the system partition. With no working system partition, your device can't boot, rendering it a useless "brick."

Even today you don't brick your device by screwing up your system partition. An every android device I've seen, there's a "recovery partition" that gets executed if there's something wrong with the system partition (it can also be explicitly run with some button combo on startup). This recovery partition has just barely enough smarts to reload a system partition image over USB.

 

[hackRme]

Hopefully they mirror only some files. Else internal memory will take a hit

 

[Omoronovo]

Is Google going to mandate a higher minimum storage size for Android N devices? Doubling up of the system partition has huge advantages, but the main reason it hasn't really been done before is that many smartphones - especially lower end ones - ship with fairly low amounts of internal storage. Even if the system partition is quite small, this still means doubling it up, and on a device with 8 or less GB of internal storage the difference would be noticeable.

Edit: Hmm, unsure about the instant downvotes. My partners Galaxy S6 has an 800MB system partition, and the last update was 380MB. If he only had 8GB of internal storage, he'd be looking at ~2GB less space for apps and data.

 

[Telzrob]

This looks great. But until we get vendors reliably creating updates for phones and we can keep carriers further delaying the process how much will it really matter?

 

[KWRussell]

"Updates, if they are created by your OEM, approved by your carrier, and downloaded, will now be applied 'seamlessly,' just like on Chrome OS."

Fixed.

(Why yes, I do own a Dell Venue 8 7000 series tablet that Dell will never, ever, ever upgrade to Marshmallow. Why do you ask?)

 

[nonesuchluck]

Nice. Xiaomi has had this since 2011 with their modified Android, MIUI. The implementation is probably different, but you could use your phone while updating the other partition, then reboot into either OS. Installed apps were shared between partitions.

 

[Llampshade]

mewmew[/url]":2qbg8wz4]This sounds like it might make rooting a more difficult thing to accomplish.

I'm not sure it will make the process of rooting any more difficult. I assume that the OS remains relatively unscathed in this dual-partition update process. I am curious about how this process will affect rooted phones. As is, most OS updates (all of them I've ever encountered) fail to apply to a rooted phone. The process of effectively un-rooting (which often requires flashing the system and cache partitions), updating, and re-rooting is a pain. With the new Nexus update schedule (which I'm generally happy about), this process needs to be done at least once every month (which gets really old). Nothing about this process makes me think that the process would be any different, other than the fact that the wait for the update won't be as painfully long. That "updating apps" wait is hideous.

 

[Degru]

mewmew[/url]":1jqr0jke]This sounds like it might make rooting a more difficult thing to accomplish.

At the same time, it will make experimenting with rooting and custom ROMs much safer, because you always have a backup copy.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

So, IF your OEM bothers to make an updates OS for your phone, and IF they make it for your specific model (looking at you samsung with your 29 different models of the same phone) and IF you carrier decides to push it out, you'll get to see this new update system in place.

I was hoping for more of a 'google is taking control of system updates ala windows update'.

 

[gmerrick]

Omoronovo[/url]":3ed8xm6q]Is Google going to mandate a higher minimum storage size for Android N devices? Doubling up of the system partition has huge advantages, but the main reason it hasn't really been done before is that many smartphones - especially lower end ones - ship with fairly low amounts of internal storage. Even if the system partition is quite small, this still means doubling it up, and on a device with 8 or less GB of internal storage the difference would be noticeable.

Edit: Hmm, unsure about the instant downvotes. My partners Galaxy S6 has an 800MB system partition, and the last update was 380MB. If he only had 8GB of internal storage, he'd be looking at ~2GB less space for apps and data.

This is one of my main complaints about phones. 16gb of storage space my ass. the OS eats up 5-6 of it leaving significantly less than advertised for user space. If they are advertising 16gb of storage that should all be accessible to me, and not include what the OS needs.

 

[nmalinoski]

Uh, can this be turned off? One of the huge reasons I hate and don't use Chrome is because of its "seamless" update system--I don't appreciate not being notified beforehand that there's a newer version available nor any awareness that an update is underway. I want to know.

 

[Degru]

nmalinoski[/url]":2mb14fzr]Uh, can this be turned off? One of the huge reasons I hate and don't use Chrome is because of its "seamless" update system--I don't appreciate not being notified beforehand that there's a newer version available nor any awareness that an update is underway. I want to know.

You will most likely be able to disable automatic updates. This feature will still make the upgrade process more painless, even if you confirm update installation manually. There may even be an option to downgrade after you install an update if you encounter problems.

 

[aburgesser]

Llampshade[/url]":3grvyqrv]

mewmew[/url]":3grvyqrv]This sounds like it might make rooting a more difficult thing to accomplish.

I'm not sure it will make the process of rooting any more difficult. I assume that the OS remains relatively unscathed in this dual-partition update process. I am curious about how this process will affect rooted phones. As is, most OS updates (all of them I've ever encountered) fail to apply to a rooted phone. The process of effectively un-rooting (which often requires flashing the system and cache partitions), updating, and re-rooting is a pain. With the new Nexus update schedule (which I'm generally happy about), this process needs to be done at least once every month (which gets really old). Nothing about this process makes me think that the process would be any different, other than the fact that the wait for the update won't be as painfully long. That "updating apps" wait is hideous.

This.

My current update process for my rooted N6 is to see the OTA notice, ignore it, download and extract the latest factory images, flash everything but /data, and re-root. Having an offline /system partition does not sound like an improvement given that OTA updates will still fail integrity checks.

 

[psarhjinian]

nmalinoski[/url]":2jbs1xu5]Uh, can this be turned off? One of the huge reasons I hate and don't use Chrome is because of its "seamless" update system--I don't appreciate not being notified beforehand that there's a newer version available nor any awareness that an update is underway. I want to know.

For technical people, this isn't a bad thing. This is why servers work the way you want.

For just about everyone else, no, they don't need to know, nor should they even be informed, that they're going to get patched up. One of the reasons Chrome and ChromeOS have the (admirable) security record they have---and why Microsoft adopted the silent, non-optional upgrade method for Windows---is that users, when given the choice to update, won't do it.

We've learned that it's better to break functionality and force developers to a) fix their shit and/or b) code properly in the first place then it is to hold back updates and suffer security failings.

 

[Degru]

dfavro[/url]":2jh57pg5]

nmalinoski[/url]":2jh57pg5]Uh, can this be turned off? One of the huge reasons I hate and don't use Chrome is because of its "seamless" update system--I don't appreciate not being notified beforehand that there's a newer version available nor any awareness that an update is underway. I want to know.

For technical people, this isn't a bad thing. This is why servers work the way you want.

For just about everyone else, no, they don't need to know, nor should they even be informed, that they're going to get patched up. One of the reasons Chrome and ChromeOS have the (admirable) security record they have---and why Microsoft adopted the silent, non-optional upgrade method for Windows---is that users, when given the choice to update, won't do it.

We've learned that it's better to break functionality and force developers to a) fix their shit and/or b) code properly in the first place then it is to hold back updates and suffer security failings.

This. So much.

 

[chuan6]

We just wish more devices actually had the first world problem of having to wait for an update to apply.

+1

 

[Chemical Tribe]

dfavro[/url]":3c2cojdj]

nmalinoski[/url]":3c2cojdj]Uh, can this be turned off? One of the huge reasons I hate and don't use Chrome is because of its "seamless" update system--I don't appreciate not being notified beforehand that there's a newer version available nor any awareness that an update is underway. I want to know.

For technical people, this isn't a bad thing. This is why servers work the way you want.

For just about everyone else, no, they don't need to know, nor should they even be informed, that they're going to get patched up. One of the reasons Chrome and ChromeOS have the (admirable) security record they have---and why Microsoft adopted the silent, non-optional upgrade method for Windows---is that users, when given the choice to update, won't do it.

We've learned that it's better to break functionality and force developers to a) fix their shit and/or b) code properly in the first place then it is to hold back updates and suffer security failings.

Keep in mind though, if chrome os has a backup partition then one need not fret about windows update leaving them with a paperweight.
For that matter, windows phone is the worst at updates, in that updates take forever.

 

[Chemical Tribe]

Monocasa[/url]":1lpl7bf8]> Today on Android, if something goes wrong during an update, you've ruined your only copy of the system partition. With no working system partition, your device can't boot, rendering it a useless "brick."

Even today you don't brick your device by screwing up your system partition. An every android device I've seen, there's a "recovery partition" that gets executed if there's something wrong with the system partition (it can also be explicitly run with some button combo on startup). This recovery partition has just barely enough smarts to reload a system partition image over USB.

Not really. Only recent Android phones will do this if the system partition fails its check. Most will just hang at a logo screen.
But the majority of people don't have access to a image for their particular phone, esp carrier ones. At least ms and apple have that part right.

 

[vonbauernfeind]

Theinsanegamer[/url]":34xq28fu]So, IF your OEM bothers to make an updates OS for your phone, and IF they make it for your specific model (looking at you samsung with your 29 different models of the same phone) and IF you carrier decides to push it out, you'll get to see this new update system in place.

I was hoping for more of a 'google is taking control of system updates ala windows update'.

As someone who moved over from the iOS ecosystem to a Nexus 6P late last year, my biggest issue has been with how poorly updating is managed. I still can't believe that every single phone has a different update schedule, further mangled by the carriers.

Why are the carriers even still relevant in this age? Why the manufacturers don't just ignore the crap out of them and push updates is something I don't get.

 

[sr105]

I think some details are missing.

1. Unless lots of code has been cleaned up, Android's partition numbers are hard coded in a lot of source (i.e. /system is almost always partition 5). Inserting a new partition could be problematic.

2. However, there probably aren't any new partitions for this. SquashFS file systems are stored in single files. The old real single system partition can hold as many SquashFS files as will fit. The device can choose which file to use when booting. This is how a lot of embedded Linux devices work today. From that point of view, it will be more space efficient. Also, having the entire OS filesystem inside of a single file means that verifying the OS is as simple as checking the file's hash.

[edit to add 3]
3. There probably won't be any additional space requirements. The cache partition (6) on Android devices is pretty much only used to download new system updates. It exists mainly to ensure that there's always enough room to download an OTA update. The switch to SquashFS should mean that the space allocated to cache can be combined into system and the cache partition eliminated.

 

[docbain]

sr105[/url]":1gr7owrm]

2. However, there probably aren't any new partitions for this. SquashFS file systems are stored in single files. The old real single system partition can hold as many SquashFS files as will fit. The device can choose which file to use when booting. This is how a lot of embedded Linux devices work today. From that point of view, it will be more space efficient. Also, having the entire OS filesystem inside of a single file means that verifying the OS is as simple as checking the file's hash.

SquashFS can be used on a read-only partition (or rw with unionfs). The only reason that SquashFS file systems are usually stored in single files is that SquashFS is the filesystem of choice for CD/USB installers, which use an ISO9660 filesystem and mount the root fs as a file on a loopback device. But the capability to mount a file as a loopback device is part of the Linux kernel and can be done with any filesystem, not just SquashFS. SquashFS images just have the advantage of being smaller than, say, ext4, and size is obviously important for ISO installers.

If the new update system does use code from Chrome OS, then it is possible they are using partitions, as the Chrome OS update and secure boot system relies on being able to directly access and update individual blocks of a partition (each Chrome OS update is just a block-level diff between the old partition and new).

 

[HeyJavaDev]

nmalinoski[/url]"amiokbk]Uh, can this be turned off? One of the huge reasons I hate and don't use Chrome is because of its "seamless" update system--I don't appreciate not being notified beforehand that there's a newer version available nor any awareness that an update is underway. I want to know.

I guess that whole green/yellow/red indicator sayimg there is an update available, reboot to apply it is missing on your chrome book? Its on my CR48 still last time i turned it on.

I will agree that I don't like having no option when it starts downloading as it makes tge mouse stop working on the cr48, which is one reason i dont use it for browsing like i would otherwise.

 

[jdrch]

afidel[/url]":1q2l1jk9]

deanrozz[/url]":1q2l1jk9]

Updates, once they are created by your OEM, approved by your carrier, and downloaded, will now be applied "seamlessly," just like on Chrome OS.

What's "seamless" about still having to wait for OEMs and carriers?

Amen.

When I read dual partition and seamless upgrades I was hoping they had separated the OS from the drivers ala the Windows HAL.

On the plus side this plus the JIT improvements might mean that monthly security patches no longer eat 50% of a full battery...

You should be running updates while connected to an AC power source anyway.

 

[jdrch]

Omoronovo[/url]":1viaj857]Is Google going to mandate a higher minimum storage size for Android N devices? Doubling up of the system partition has huge advantages, but the main reason it hasn't really been done before is that many smartphones - especially lower end ones - ship with fairly low amounts of internal storage. Even if the system partition is quite small, this still means doubling it up, and on a device with 8 or less GB of internal storage the difference would be noticeable.

Edit: Hmm, unsure about the instant downvotes. My partners Galaxy S6 has an 800MB system partition, and the last update was 380MB. If he only had 8GB of internal storage, he'd be looking at ~2GB less space for apps and data.

My concern exactly. Most handsets are shipping with 16 GB of storage and already have a chunk of that used up by the system. This only worsens that problem.

 

[evan_s]

vonbauernfeind[/url]":16lj9uy7]

Theinsanegamer[/url]":16lj9uy7]So, IF your OEM bothers to make an updates OS for your phone, and IF they make it for your specific model (looking at you samsung with your 29 different models of the same phone) and IF you carrier decides to push it out, you'll get to see this new update system in place.

I was hoping for more of a 'google is taking control of system updates ala windows update'.

As someone who moved over from the iOS ecosystem to a Nexus 6P late last year, my biggest issue has been with how poorly updating is managed. I still can't believe that every single phone has a different update schedule, further mangled by the carriers.

Why are the carriers even still relevant in this age? Why the manufacturers don't just ignore the crap out of them and push updates is something I don't get.

Because we aren't the MFGs customers the carriers are. Why would they want to piss off their customer by ignoring them and what they want just to make some other group happy?

 

[waverunnr]

I'm reading on other sites Google said this new feature won't work on any current devices due to not being able to reparation with OTA updates. While I get that, I'm the type of user who always wipes the drive and performs a clean install with new OS releases, so why couldn't we simply repartition the drive before installing their stock image?

 

[sr105]

waverunnr[/url]":2ldpda3n]...so why couldn't we simply repartition the drive before installing their stock image?

The bootloader on the phone makes assumptions about where things live, i.e. number of partitions and their purpose. If you change that, your phone may not boot. The bootloader and the OS are designed to work together, but Google doesn't write or ship those; the phone manufacturer does.

 

[truthyboy15]

Going to release an updated article Ron?