It likely will be easier for Apple to roll out an iOS update to all of its users at once than it is for Google. "Given the critical nature of this update, I appreciate Google using the Google Play services rather than relying on users to download the update," Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi said.
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The contact tracing tools will be available for phones running software as old as Android Marshmallow, the version of the operating system released in 2015. The company normally uses Google Play Services to update its own apps, like Gmail and Maps, and to push changes like a new app icon. It will instead come through a set of tools called Google Play Services, which lets Android sidestep some fragmentation issues by pushing updates directly, without the approval of device and wireless partners. Long COVID Symptoms May Depend on the Variant You Contractedįor Google, the update to enable the tracking tools won't be like a normal operating system upgrade.Free COVID Antiviral Pills: New Official Website Helps Find Them.I'm Eligible for a Second COVID Vaccine Booster.Apple's update process is a whole lot simpler, but even the iPhone maker doesn't have 100% of its users on the most recent version of iOS. The cumbersome process has led to a challenge known as fragmentation, with Android users running different flavors of the OS that have varying capabilities. That's because Android operates on devices made by a variety of manufacturers, who have to test updates to make sure they work. Pushing out updates to Android is notoriously challenging. A software tool, after all, is only as effective as the number of people who can access it. Once it's part of the OS, tracking could be even easier, but that will require people to update their phone software, a problem that dogs the industry. The two companies plan to build the contact-tracing capability into their mobile operating systems, building off the public health apps.
Google and Apple will initially begin releasing updates in May, the tech giants said during a joint briefing Monday.
The tools will use Bluetooth radio technology to support apps that will be developed by public health authorities. The joint project takes advantage of two of the world's most popular operating systems - Apple's iOS and Google's Android - to potentially reach billions of people. For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.Īpple and Google are working together on a major effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 that uses signals from people's phones to warn them if they've been in contact with someone who's tested positive for the disease.