Prior to the approaching Android M release date, a new report came out and is claiming that Google will soon end its support for two vanilla Android devices - the original Nexus 7 and the Nexus 7 2013 version. The tablets will not be updated to Android M.
According to Geek Snack, the Asus-built Nexus 7s will not be getting Android M, which is expected to begin rolling out in the last days of September. "The Nexus 7 will no longer receive software updates when Android M is finalized and go official," the report said.
Citing its Android insider source, Geek Snack added that Google's plan of withholding Android M from the Nexus 7 covers all editions and variants of the device, meaning both the 2012 and 2013 builds will be skipped by the new operating system.
While the blog report conceded that the information it obtained is far from confirmed, the plan seems to make sense as Google had earlier announced that starting with Android M software support for devices running on the OS will be limited to no more than 2 years. Obviously, the Nexus 7 will not make the cut as the last model was issued July 2013.
The last software update received by the device was last June, which was build number LMY48G of the Android Lollipop 5.1.1 and deployed for the Nexus 7 2013, according to GSM Arena. And it looks like that this will be the last Android version that any of the Nexus 7 tab will be getting, which for many of the device users represent a bad news.
Lollipop doesn't seem to agree with Nexus 7 as Geek Snack noted on its report that "when Android Lollipop was released for the tablet, people started seeing flaws with the tablet's performance, as well as user experience."
Will these users be left to fend for themselves? No word from Google yet though the same report recommends a possible return to KitKat 4.4 for Nexus 7 owners. "That's the most stable and most acclaimed version of Google's operating system, at least for the Nexus 7," the report said.
Or these Android fans can still wait out for Google to change its mind and include the two Nexus 7 builds to the list of devices that Android M will support on release date, which as mentioned should start to happen by end of September 2015.