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According to a comment made to this article as shown below:

They already do that. Its called the Nexus One, secondly the Nexus S, and thirdly, now the Galaxy Nexus..... they all receive OS updates directly from google.

Is it true that there are only 3 Android phones that receive the latest OS updates?

  • Nexus One
  • Nexus S
  • Galaxy Nexus

The rest will have to wait for their Telecom or the phone manufacturer for the latest Android OS updates?

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Also the Nexus 4 phone (by LG) and the two tablets: the Nexus 7 (Asus) and the Nexus 10 (Samsung). – Itamar Nov 19 '12 at 12:50
@Jack They definitely receive the latest updates the quickest compared to other phones or tablets - which makes sense really – Simon Dec 4 '12 at 10:48

2 Answers

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Yes and No. There are Nexus/Google devices that are nevertheless branded by the carrier and therefore receive a different ROM then the stock ROM. This usually takes longer then the stock ROM.

But yes, besides of that, the Google manufactured branded devices are the only ones who receive the updates directly from Google. All other devices get their updates from the manufacturer and/or the carrier.

Oh, and the Nexus One won't receive Android 4.2 (officially). Plus, no one gurantees you that your non-Google device will get the latest Android version. That's a big advantage when buying a Nexus device: It will be up to date for a while.

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can I interpret "will be up to date for a while" - as long as present hardware supports future software demands? Or something else a prospective Nexus device owner should be worried of? – Narayanan Nov 19 '12 at 10:17
No, hardware support is no criterion if there will be a official update. It's up to the manufacturer if he is willing to put the time and money in a update or if he is just "phasing out" the device. But the Nexus devices are the one who will get a update most likely and early. There is nothing to be worried of. – Flow♦ Nov 19 '12 at 11:36
up vote 0 down vote

Yes. Its because they are Google branded devices.
Google only develops android OS for devices which is under Google Brand. i.e. compatible with those Google devices hardware.
Other phone manufacture will create similar OS versions for their devices with different User Interfaces and with more/less add-ons and functionalities.
Or they just port Pure Android Open Source code to their device(Pure Google experience). And also there are so many Custom OS available. And you can flash it in your device( in your own risk).

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This isn't quite correct. Google develops Android with the intention of it being used on devices made by other companies, and the other companies use the same OS, with a few new drivers (presumably) and some added crapware. – Brendan Long Nov 19 '12 at 15:28

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