Google's Project Treble makes it easier for Android owners to upgrade their devices to the current version of the mobile operating system, which likely means that the lengthy waits Android users have endured while manufacturers roll out their own updates may be a thing of the past.
Yet that won't be the case if you own a OnePlus device, at least for this year. In an AMA held yesterday on the OnePlus forums, representative Adam Krisko confirmed that none of the company's currently released devices support Project Treble. Nor will they in the future.
"We are not currently supporting treble and do not plan to for these devices," Krisko said.
This may come as a surprise this late in the game, especially after Google made it clear in May that any new devices that ship with Android Oreo installed will have to support Project Treble. Unfortunately, even OnePlus' most recent device – the recently released OnePlus 5T – runs on Nougat.
Aside from the Pixel, Android doesn't operate in a closed system like Apple's iOS, so users of devices from manufacturers like Samsung are often forced to wait weeks or even years for the companies that make their chips to approve the operating system updates for the device.
Treble, though, only updates the parts of Android that don't directly invoice the chips, making it easy to bypass this lengthy approval process. We explain it in greater detail here.
Half-baked
Google's own first-generation Pixel proves that it's possible to get Project Treble even if Oreo was installed later, but for whatever reason OnePlus is declining to support the service.
On the bright side, the same AMA confirmed that OnePlus is actively preparing to get Android 8.1 Oreo on the 5T, so maybe updates won't take that long without Treble, after all.
Unfortunately, the timeline given for this update was merely "later."
