Is it possible to install a newer Android system on an older Android smartphone?

[Vlad3]

When choosing a smartphone to buy, I have noticed that one smartphone released in 2017 has Android 7 system, whereas another released in 2018 has Android 8. However, the 2017 smartphone with Android 7 seems to be more advanced technologically than the smartphone with Android 8, and it has more memory.

If I buy the 2017 smartphone with the Android 7 system, will it then be possible to install a newer version of the system? Or is each smartphone designed only for one specific version of the system?

 

[hallux]

Welcome!

It's not that a phone is designed specifically for one version of Android, but that the Android OS is customized by the manufacturer for the particular device. Android is not like Windows where you can just install the OS and the devices will get updated drivers over the internet, those drivers have to be built into the ROM when it's assembled. Understanding that - the latest OS the manufacturer has released for any particular device is the latest you're going to get on it without doing some work, and those released by the manufacturer are definitely going to be the easiest update path and safest with regard to the data you have on the device.

That said - many/most mainstream devices have support on XDA for 3rd-party ROM builds that some generous soul has done the same work the manufacturer would have done, building the newer OS with the drivers for that device. That's not to say using a ROM from that site is without risk.

It's almost 2020, I would be hesitant to be buying a device from 2017 or 2018, especially if they're only ever going to officially have the OS they shipped with. Do you mind sharing what devices you were looking at?

 

[Vlad3]

Thank you for the information.
The 2018 smartphone with Android 8 which I was comparing was DEXP AL140.
The 2017 smartphone with Android 7 was DEXP Ixion M340.

Apparently I will have to buy the 2018 smartphone in order to have the latest version of the system. Although the 2017 smartphone has twice as much RAM and camera resolution, the capacity of the battery in the first is shown to be 3,000 mAh.

 

[Rukbat]

Neither one is much of a 2017 (or even 2016) phone - 8GB storage, 1GB RAM, Mediatek SoC? Unless you have no money and must have a cellphone, I'd go for something more "second decade of the 21st century" - a Snapdragon or Exynos SoC, at least 32GB of storage, at least 3GB of RAM. The M340 is about a cheap 2015 phone in most parts of the world. (Probably a cheap 2013 phone in China.)

As far as putting a later version of Android on an older phone, first - will the phone support it? Neither of those phones will run well with Android 7 or 8.

Second, even assuming that you bought a much better, earlier phone, you'd have to write the hardware/software interface (called the HAL) yourself, since the manufacturer evidently isn't. And use AOSP as the Android variant (that's the open source variant).

 

[Mooncatt]

To add to what Rukbat said, that looks to be a rather unknown brand of phone. Paltry specs aside, I'd question how stable the programming is. Major name brands will invest a lot into programming and bug fixing. These no-name brands with no budget are likely to just slap whatever together and you just have to hope for the best (because tech support isn't even an afterthought to them). It's not unheard of for no-name brands to embed malware into the OS itself that you can not get rid of.

I would stay away from both of these at all costs.

 

[me just saying]

Thank you for the information.
The 2018 smartphone with Android 8 which I was comparing was DEXP AL140.
The 2017 smartphone with Android 7 was DEXP Ixion M340.

Apparently I will have to buy the 2018 smartphone in order to have the latest version of the system. Although the 2017 smartphone has twice as much RAM and camera resolution, the capacity of the battery in the first is shown to be 3,000 mAh.

even then, the phone might get one update to the latest. best to do an internet search to see if the phone you are considering is on the list. Also unless the phone is brand new, you might want to also consider the battery. after a year, the battery is not as strong as it was brand new. though it still might last a few more years, it might not last as long as you need between charges.

 

[hallux]

Hold the phone (no pun intended). Those were released in 2017 and 2019 and only support 2g and 3g networks, no 4g? I'd look at other devices for sure. If Motorola sells in China, they make some great budget-friendly devices.