Updating a phone is a hassle at best, but it's even worse if you can't use it while the update is being installed. Last year, it was speculated that Google might put a stop to this in Android 11 with a new feature that would facilitate "seamless updates" on all devices.

Unfortunately, the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S21 seems to suggest that this was not really the case. This is because it turns out that this model does not support seamless updates.

This speculation is due to a change in the Android 11 vendor test suit, which suggests that those running Android 11 must support seamless updates through the A/B partition system. Simply put, the phone will continue to operate normally while updates are installed in the background.

Seamless updates also have the added benefit of making it easier to revert to a previous software version, meaning that there is less chance of any problems occurring during the update process.

This feature has been in place since 2016, and most Android phone manufacturers have implemented it. However, Samsung appears to be one of the few holdouts.

It does not seem so unreasonable to include this feature. Despite the importance of cell phone updates, some people are reluctant to update their phones, so installing updates in the background is a good way to make it as hassle-free as possible.

Unfortunately, Samsung has not solved that yet, and according to the January 2021 version of the Android 11 CDD, Google has not yet made it mandatory. It currently only says that handset manufacturers "should" support it, despite reports that previous drafts did so. But from the sound of things, nothing is forcing the currency to be compliant with Samsung. It is still unclear why Google has taken a back seat.

So that's something you need to be aware of if you're thinking of picking up one of the Samsung Galaxy S21 range. Samsung is generally very good at updating phones with the latest Android updates, but it comes at a cost. That cost is that each update renders the phone completely unusable.