Verizon pushed an update to its Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, claiming to upgrade them to Android 8.0 Oreo.
However, the update is, in fact, just Android Nougat with the April security patch on top. It's clearly a mistake, but it remains unclear whether Verizon just wanted to release the latest Android security patch.
It mistakenly said it was an update to Oreo, or whether it actually meant to release the Oreo build and instead packed Nougat by accident.
Verizon Galaxy S7 Oreo Update Is Not Oreo
Upon receiving a notification that the Android 8.0 Oreo upgrade was finally ready to install, the excitement of Verizon Galaxy S7 owners quickly turned into confusion and likely disappointed when they realized it was actually Android Nougat, Android Police reports.
The update rolled out over the air and the changelog claimed it pushed the software version to Oreo. It even described top features of the new OS version including the new notification system, picture-in-picture mode, UI improvements, and more.
Since the update is actually just Android Nougat, those features are obviously not in the cards. Nevertheless, the good part is that the Verizon Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge did get the latest Android security patch for the month of April, which is designed to ensure that the smartphones are all caught up and up-to-date, thus, protected against the latest security threats.
As a reminder, the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge launched with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow onboard out-of-the-box and received an upgrade to Android 7.0 Nougat back in March 2017. One year later, the same update is rolling out, with no clarification as to when Android 8.0 Oreo will actually become available.
Why You Should Still Install The Update
Even if Android 8.0 Oreo is not actually included in this update, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge owners on Verizon should still download and install the latest update for the April security patch.
Android is the most widely used operating system worldwide and great popularity also means greater threats. The monthly security updates aim to patch any potential vulnerabilities that attackers might exploit, so it's paramount to be up-to-date in terms of security. That said, this update won't bring any new features or other improvements.
Verizon is expected to fix this confusing update soon enough, either by noting that it's just a security patch or by releasing the actual Android 8.0 Oreo update users are expected.
We'll keep you informed with any new developments on this matter, so stay tuned.
