Whenever there is an upgrade to Android, there is always the rollout at the beginning, which always rewards Google's own Nexus series first. This leaves other smartphones companies like HTC wondering when this rollout will trickledown to them. This is what is known about the Android L 5.1.1 Lollipop and Android M 6.0 Marshmallow Release Date for HTC One M7, M8, M9 for Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, or T-Mobile.
One of the issues with these particular devices from HTC the company has not released Android 5.1.1 to their flagship phones series as yet, according to Android Pit. This has led to speculation that these phones will probably skip 5.1.1 and go straight to Android 6.0.
HTC is unique amongst the other smartphone brands because most of the other ones like Samsung, Motorola, Sony, and LG often don't make any promises of when their Android upgrade will roll out. However, Pocket-Lint reports that HTC operates on a 90-day promise for updates, as well as promising that any HTC device will be updated for two years following its release.
The issue is that there have been a few times with the release date that HTC has been late, like it was with the rollout of certain versions of Android 5.0. So far, it is known that the flagships HTC One M9 and One M8 will get their update at "the beginning end of 2015", which means before January. There are several factors in play, such as there have been delays as the update comes to certain US Carriers first rather than others.
So far, the update list of HTC devices includes:
- HTC One M9+
- HTC One E9+
- HTC One M8
- HTC One E9
- HTC One ME
- HTC One E8
- HTC One M8 Eye
- HTC Butterfly 3
- HTC Desire 826
- HTC Desire 820
- HTC Desire 816
One might be quick to notice that the HTC One M7 did not make the cut. Considering that the company promised that the upgrades would only go up for phones that are two years old, it looks like this is a time where the customer doesn't get the latest due to a company promise.
Of course, if you want an HTC device that has Android Marshmallow right out of the box, just get yourself an HTC One A9, not to be confused with the HTC One M9. The A9 has a 5 in FHD display, 13 Megapixel rear camera, 4 Megapixel front-facing camera, 2150 mAh battery, NFC support, and HTC Zoe, a shooting mode that captures snippets of video before and after taking a still.
It seems odd that HTC would have the One A9, as the M9 will have Android 6.0 soon. Also, it is getting pretty close to Mobile World Congress, and HTC will probably update to the One M10 or whatever they will call the next model soon. I'm certain that phone will have Marshmallow right out of the box.
