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CNET
HTC One owners waiting for an update to the latest version of Android will have to practice a bit more patience.
The company said late Friday that it would miss its goal of bringing Android 5.0, also known as Lollipop, to the carrier versions of the HTC One M8 and M7 within 90 days. The deadline for that window would fall on February 1.
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The Taiwanese smartphone maker’s mission to keep its products up to date with the latest software is one of the ways it hopes to stand apart and build customer loyalty for its products. Consumers have grown increasingly savvy about the version of Android on their devices, with many clamoring for faster updates. HTC needs the edge: Once a major player in the smartphone business known for its design acumen, it’s since been trampled by heftier competitors such as Samsung, or companies such as Xiaomi that focus on low-cost devices.
But HTC has shown signs of life. Earlier this month, it reported its first fourth-quarter gain in revenue, year over year, since 2011. The gain was helped by the Nexus 9 and a widening line of midrange smartphones.
On the update, HTC was delayed by issues that needed to be addressed with Lollipop, Mo Versi, vice president of product management, said in a blog post Friday. The issues need to be vetted by both HTC and its carrier partners.
“We are continuing to push hard to deliver Lollipop to all devices as near the 90-day mark as possible, but we are taking every precaution to ensure the rollout is right and we aren’t willing to compromise at your expense,” Versi said.
HTC has already pushed the update to the Google Play, Developer and unlocked editions of the HTC One M8, which don’t have carrier partners.
HTC isn’t the only one to deal with update issues. In a blog post Thursday, Motorola laid out some of the challenges involved with the Lollipop update. It had finally brought Android 5.0 to Moto G in India and Brazil, despite updating the phone in other regions as far back as November (second-generation Moto G users in the US will get it in phases). The challenges go back to the need to perform additional tests before an update can be pushed to a large number of users.
Like HTC, Motorola has set a commitment to update its smartphones to the latest version of Android.
