Android Lollipop to flavor AT&T's HTC One M8 starting Tuesday
Previously delayed by technical issues, the latest version of Android now appears headed to AT&T HTC One M8 users, according to a tweet from an HTC exec.
Owners of the HTC One M8 phone on AT&T should be on the lookout for a shot of Android Lollipop as of Tuesday.
A Monday night tweet from HTC vice president of product management Mo Versi said that the latest version of Google's mobile OS is finally launching for the HTC One M8: "AT&T HTC One (M8) Owners! We just received technical approval for Lollipop OS! Thank you for all your patience, OTA (over-the-air) [update] to start tomorrow."
Android OS rollouts via carriers can be challenging and time-consuming, especially if technical bugs are discovered. Both the manufacturer and the carrier need to test and verify the update before it can be approved for smartphone users. The update then needs to be scheduled by the carrier and rolled out country by country or on a global basis for each individual phone.
Technical issues have plagued the rollout of Android 5.0 to the HTC One M8 . In late January, HTC revealed that it would miss its February 1 goal of pushing out Android Lollipop to the carrier versions of the HTC One M8 and M7. At the time, HTC had already doled out the update to the Google Play, Developer and unlocked editions of the HTC One M8, which don't rely on carrier partners, such as AT&T.
Via a blog post in January, Motorola detailed the multiple steps involved in pushing out a new version of Android, explaining why it often takes so long. The delay in launching a new Android OS is a major contributor toward Android fragmentation, which leads to older versions of the OS still resting on different phones and tablets for years.
AT&T is last among the US's four major carriers to push Android 5.0 to the HTC One M8. Sprint and T-Mobile kicked off the rollout in February, while Verizon Wireless started it in early March.
The One M8 is HTC's earlier flagship phone. Last month, the company released its latest, the HTC One M9, which will be contending with Samsung's Galaxy S6 and Apple's iPhone 6 lines.
AT&T did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment.