Android Nougat not for all

Smartphones with Snapdragon 800/801 will not get Google Android 7.0 Nougat version due to compatibility issues

Google announ-ced the roll-out of its seventh Android OS version Nougat to Nexus smartphones last week and other handsets are also expecting the new update soon. However, a well-known Android developer said phones featuring Snapdragon 800/801 chipsets would not receive the update.

Popular Android developer who goes by the Twitter handle @LlabTooFer said numerous handsets powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 800/801 processor will not receive Android 7.0 Nougat update. He suggested some phones from OnePlus, HTC, Xiaomi, Samsung, Sony and a few more would not receive the Android 7.0 Nougat update due to compatibility issue.

“Qualcomm will not release graphics drivers for 800/801 CPUs. So HTC One M8 and other devices based on this CPU won't get official Android 7.0,” he wrote. Android Central also pointed out: "Android 7.0 in Android Open Source Project has removed support for the MSM8974 chipset whi-ch is used by Snapdra-gon 800 chipsets along with Adreno 330 GPU."

“This means phones (and tablets - Nexus 7) using the Snapdragon 800 are not supported. But this doesn't explain why the Z3 was able to run the beta, and run it well. For that, Google Play compatibility comes into the picture," Android Central website reported.

Even Nexus 5 and 7 smartphones, powered by Snapdragon 800 chipsets, are unlikely to support the new Android OS. Other smartphones such as HTC One M8, Sony Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact, OnePlus One and OnePlus X, Xiaomi Mi4, Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and LG G3 will not support the new OS.

Apart from the abo-ve-mentioned handsets, smartphones based on Snapdragon 801 chipset will also suffer the same fate.

Google has not given any statement about the issue and only time will tell if the search giant would make changes to support the incompatible handsets.