HTC owners who are all geared up for Android Lollipop to come to their One M7 and M8 smartphones will have to wait some more.
The Taiwanese smartphone maker announced on Friday that customers waiting for the Lollipop upgrade will not receive it in time for HTC's self-imposed deadline of Feb. 1. On Nov. 3, HTC said it had received the Android Lollipop code and will be rolling out the updates to the HTC One M7 and M8 within 90 days. However, HTC's latest announcement will likely annoy customers who were eagerly waiting for the update, especially since HTC is not saying anything about when to expect the Lollipop upgrade.
The company did not point to a specific reason for the delay, but HTC vice president of product management Mo Versi hints at issues on Google's end as the primary impetus for the delay.
"We've been working hard in the labs with Google and our carrier partners ever since the code release and are making great progress so far, but if you've been following the progress of this rollout you will know that Google has had to address several issues with the release," Versi says.
Versi adds that "despite everyone's best efforts," HTC will not be able to meet its goal of delivering Android Lollipop to its latest devices by Feb. 1.
"We are continuing to push hard to deliver Lollipop to all devices as near the 90-day mark as possible, but we are taking every precaution to ensure the rollout is right and we aren't willing to compromise at your expense," he says.
The delay only applies to HTC One M7 and M8 phones that are locked to mobile carriers in the United States and some providers in other countries. Versi stresses that unlocked devices, devices purchased through Google Play, and developer editions of its smartphones have already been updated.
Meanwhile, other Android phone manufacturers are also suffering from their share of Lollipop delays. On Thursday, Motorola announced that it has already pushed the upgrade to Moto G users in India and Brazil who purchased their phones via Flipkart, Airtel, or the Motorola online and retail stores, while users in the United States will receive the upgrade in phases as Motorola performs what it calls soak tests and incorporate additional features and requirements by different carriers.
Samsung is also making a gradual push to upgrade its customers' smartphones. In Russia, users of the Galaxy S4 now have Lollipop, while a Lollipop manual for the Galaxy Note 4 has been posted online, indicating that an upgrade is not far from the future.
