Google announces Project Mainline to apply Android security update faster
In order to fundamentally improve the security of Android devices, Google finally announced this week the most important update to date, it is Project Mainline. Previously, Google had to provide security updates to smartphone manufacturers or carriers. But in some cases, this process takes too much time (from Google -> Manufacturer -> Mobile, even more chaotic). For consumers, this is obviously a bad thing. The good news is that Project Mainline can greatly speed up this process.
Google said its goal is to provide security updates for users’ phones as quickly, consistently and easily as possible. Under the Project Mainline mechanism, Google will be able to provide security updates directly to end users. It is reported that in Project Mainline, you can see a series of 14 Mainline components. These components in the Android system can be easily updated like Google’s normal software.
All 14 initial Mainline components:
• Security: Media Codecs, Media Framework Components, DNS Resolver, Conscrypt
• Privacy: Documents UI, Permission Controller, ExtServices
• Consistency: Timezone data, ANGLE (developers opt-in), Module Metadata, Networking components, Captive Portal Login, Network Permission Configuration
Normally, security updates required the user to reboot the device to fully load the updated package. But under the new module component upgrade mechanism, it is no longer needed.
Unfortunately, even if you buy the latest Android smartphone on the market, you can’t immediately enjoy this benefit. It only works on Android Q that has not yet been officially released. Finally, Google said that the Project Mainline is based on the early Treble project to simplify and speed up security updates for the Android ecosystem.
Source: SlashGear