HTC finally announces Android 9.0 Pie update... plans for U11, U11+, and U12+

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HTC finally announces Android 9.0 Pie update... plans for U11, U11+, and U12+
The HTC U12+ is certainly not a bad phone, but its software support is horrendous

HTC is a smartphone-making company that still... sort of exists. Once upon a time ranked among the world's top five vendors and widely considered one of the mobile industry's chief innovators, the Taiwan-based tech giant can hardly be called that nowadays, as its revenue continues to shrink closer and closer to microscopic levels.

Just in case you needed another reminder of why HTC reached rock bottom after recently focusing on crypto-phones and 5G-enabled... smart hubs, the company finally announced something on Twitter about its Android Pie rollout plans earlier today. Unfortunately, this status update is not only late, but vague and outright infuriating for owners of the HTC U12+ and U11+.

As it turns out, you still have a few more weeks to wait before bidding adieu to the ancient Oreo flavor of the world's most popular mobile operating system. As promised all the way back in August 2018, the HTC U11, U11+, and U12+ will eventually receive official Android 9.0 updates. But believe it or not, HTC is still "working on ensuring the update is compatible with our phones", anticipating a release "starting Q2 '19."

Obviously, that could mean April... or June. It could also mean Android Pie delivery will "start" for just one or two of the aforementioned handsets in certain parts of the world by the end of June, with expansions to follow later on. 

Either way, there's no point beating around the bush - this is simply an unacceptable "timetable." Maybe it would have been acceptable to keep owners of the original HTC U11 waiting so long, but the U11+ and U12+ are yet to receive a single major UI makeover. The latter model is not even a year old, debuting commercially shortly after devices like the Sony Xperia XZ2 and Samsung Galaxy S9, which got their 9.0 promotions months ago. 

Ironically, one HTC phone also made the jump to Pie many months back, thanks primarily to its participation in the Android One program, which meant the OEM's bloatware was kept to a minimum. And yes, the U11 Life is a far humbler device than the U11, U11+, and U12+. What... a... mess!

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