HTC details ICS roll-out on pre-existing smartphones

If by any chance you’re an HTC user and are in possession of a handset that was launched before the brand’s One series, you may surely want to know when the brand will serve you Google’s latest Android dessert, the Ice Cream Sandwich. Back in March, we reported that HTC had their plans in place to release Ice Cream Sandwich to a number of handsets. Now the brand have updated their frequently asked questions page and listed the line-up of handsets that are to receive the current Android OS, along with specifying as to when they will be dished out.

As per the post, here is a look at which handsets will receive Android Ice Cream Sandwich and when:

March to June - HTC Amaze 4G, HTC EVO 4G+, HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation 4G, HTC Sensation XE, HTC Sensation XL, HTC Velocity 4G, HTC Vivid

June to July - HTC Desire S, HTC EVO 3D, HTC EVO Design 4G, HTC Incredible S, HTC Rezound, HTC Rhyme

July to August - HTC Desire HD, HTC Thunderbolt

With this post it appears that most of the 2011 line-up of HTC handsets are going to be updated, with only the Droid Incredible 2 by HTC remaining to be determined. In the post, they have also listed which devices will not be receiving Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. They state, “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 ROM or less will not be upgraded to Android 4.0. These devices include the HTC ChaCha, HTC Salsa, HTC Wildfire S, HTC Explorer, and others.” They go on to add, “HTC tablets, including the HTC Flyer, HTC EVO View 4G, and HTC Jetstream, will remain on their current Android version (Honeycomb). Upgrades are not the same thing as ongoing support. Devices not being upgraded to Android 4.0 will still get software improvements, security fixes, and technical support as needed.”

If one had been wondering as to why the brand had taken long in releasing Ice Cream Sandwich on to their older devices, they state that their goal is to make sure that an upgrade provides an equal or improved customer experience and that means a high standard of quality for hardware compatibility, adapting device or carrier specific customizations, testing by them and their partners, addressing device hardware constraints, along with many other factors.