For HTC’s Jelly Bean plans, 2012 phones are the priority
This news won’t come as a total shocker to anyone who knows how these sorts of things tend to go, but in case you were wondering where HTC’s priorities stood for bringing Jelly Bean to its smartphones the OEM is making it clear. It’ll be working hardest to get its 2012 smartphones (the HTC One X and One S are already confirmed) up to the latest version of Android.
In addition to the HTC One X and HTC One S, we are actively reviewing our product portfolio to identify candidates to receive Jelly Bean. Our goal is to prioritize review for devices launched in 2012 with our numerous carrier partners across multiple regions and then consider our ability to provide updates to products from 2011.
It should be a pretty easy process to identify which smartphones released this year are able to handle Jelly Bean in a technical sense considering HTC has released mostly high-end smartphones this year.
Even most of its mid-range offerings should be able to handle the upgrade no problem, though a few exceptions will have to be made for devices that only have 512MB of RAM such as the HTC One V and HTC Desire C — little RAM = no update. As for phones from 2011 HTC will have to scrutinize those a bit more as they determine the feasibility of providing upgrades to the older handsets.
We work hard to ensure each of our products has the optimal user experience and therefore some products will remain at their current version of Android. In general, devices with 512MB RAM or less will not be upgraded to Android 4.1. At present, these devices include the HTC One V and the HTC Desire C. As we identify other devices that will not be upgraded, we’ll provide updated information.
We’d be surprised if at least a handful of you will not be able to get it, but HTC’s not promising anything to anyone at this point and that’s probably the best course of action — it’s better to be sure than to overestimate and fail to deliver (we’re looking at you, HTC Desire HD).
The most we can ask for is honesty, and HTC’s delivered its stance in a clear and concise way. All you can do now is hope that you device is in line for Jelly Bean, and in case you’re worried it might be time to sign up for an account at a site like XDA or RootzWiki to see if some of the folks in the development community can help bridge the gap.