Qualcomm has decided to end support for Snapdragon 800 and the Snapdragon 801 processors. This development virtually ends your dream to run Android 7.0 Nougat in older smartphones. According to ROM developer and HTC tipster LlabTooFeR, who is known by the same name on Twitter, has disclosed that Qualcomm will not release updates to the graphic drivers on the Snapdragon 800 and the Snapdragon 801 processors. The smartphones which will be affected by the latest development are HTC One (M8), Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, LG G3, Sony Xperia Z3 and other models. However, if the decision taken by the company turns out to be true, it will adversely affect a large user base across the World.
According to industry analysts, even if Qualcomm decides to release driver updates, there is no guarantee that the manufacturer will provide support for the update. Hence, both the chipset manufacturer and the company which released the smartphone should provide relevant updates for the smooth running of Android 7.0 Nougat.
Qualcomm will not release graphics drivers for 800/801 CPUs.So HTC One M8 and other devices based on this CPU won't get official Android 7.0
— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) August 25, 2016
Smartphones released before 2014 will not get Android 7.0 Nougat
Meanwhile, LlabTooFeR revealed that several old smartphones, which dates back to 2014 and earlier, are left out of the Android Nougat party. Nearly 80 percent of these devices shipped with Snapdragon 800 or 801. Since the graphic drivers will not be updated for these processors, you need not have to expect the arrival of Android Nougat.
To run Android Nougat without any lags, the graphic drivers need to be updated by the relevant manufacturer. As long as it is not done, then you need not have to expect Android 7.0 Nougat in older devices.
More smartphones to be affected
We checked out Amazon US site and found several smartphones and tablets which run Snapdragon 800 processor. Some of them are LG G2, HP Slate 8 Pro, Sony Xperia Z1, Samsung Galaxy Tab E, Asus ZenFone Selfie ZD551KL and HTC One Max.
Talking about Snapdragon 801, the smartphones which are likely to be affected by the decision of Qualcomm are HTC Desire Eye E1, Sony Xperia Z3v D6708, HTC One M7, Oneplus X, Lenovo ZUK Z1, OnePlus One, Phicomm EX780, Infocus M810T and Coolpad Dazen X7.
Outdated smartphones are capable of running Android 7.0 Nougat
You should note that few devices like Nexus 5 have reached their end of their promised support period. If you buy a new smartphone now, you can expect support for few years. After that, the manufacturer will dump the device when new devices crop up. This is what happened to Nexus 5. If you look at the specifications of the above devices, they are very much capable of running Android Nougat.
Unlike smartphones, processors have a larger shelf life. Hence, we expect Qualcomm to rethink about the decision to abandon support for Snapdragon 800/801 processors.
