During the Android Fireside Chat that took place at Google I/O 2017, a nice new feature was discussed. It was revealed that users of Android O will be able to update their graphics drivers through the Play Store. This might be one of the most exciting features of the upcoming Android.

We know very little about how Google and vendors plan to introduce this feature. However, this might be one of the first results of Project Treble. The team behind this project plans to focus on modularizing the components of Android and reduce the fragmentation. The new feature was announced by Googler Romain Guy during a Q&A.

The graphics drivers update would be possible only on new devices that will ship with Android O out-of-the-box. Older devices don't have the required hardware and software to handle the update process without major issues. The vendor implementation level below the OS framework is supposed to contain device-specific low-level software, like drivers and binaries. To make the update process possible, the GPU driver must be modular or exist outside the layer. It's surprising that Dave Burke didn't mention this feature during the Keynote speech, and that Trebble in general hasn't received much attention outside a few specific, smaller talks at I/O

What do you think of this solution? Is it a great idea or simple waste of resources? Share your thoughts in the comments.


Via: Android Police