Some people have problems with software updates, especially if they have a lot of files in their internal storage and there is just no space to be had. The standard way of updating software usually means you have to download the update onto your internal storage – which usually needs anywhere from 100MB to 300MB on the average. What if there is just no more space to be had?
Luckily for us, Android Nougat’s Seamless System Updates uses the A/B partition design. The A/B system updates ensures that whenever you update, there will always be a working system on your device that will be able to boot. And to this effect, any system update can be streamed and directly applied to the B partition without the need for storage space.
Users will not always have enough space for downloading an update, and so they just choose to go without it. Streaming the update means there is no need for space on the data partition, and the update is directly applied to the B partition, to be used upon restart.
Google says that at most, you’ll need 100KB for metadata – and that’s about it. The next challenge is, of course, to make sure that manufacturers use the A/B system update feature on their version of Android. Here’s hoping that this feature will make it outside of the Nexus and Pixel devices.
SOURCE: Android
