Turns out, Android Nougat doesn't need the cache partition anymore.
If you own a Google Pixel, you’ve probably noticed the missing cache partition by now. We asked Google why, and the company confirmed that Nougat doesn’t need a cache partition. While developers would already be aware of this, Android Nougat has two system partitions, and the OS can run from either of these partitions.
According to Google, the cache partition was used to store “store downloaded OS upgrades” earlier, for devices that ran older versions of Android. These upgrades were downloaded first and then applied to the main system partition during reboot. On Nougat, OS updates can download in the background. This means you can continue using your phone, while the phone “syncs with the latest OS”, in the background.
“Because the currently used system partition is not modified during the upgrade process, the upgrade work, including application optimisations, can all happen in the background while the user continues to use the device,” a Google spokesperson said. Further, “Once the new version of the OS has been completely applied to the unused partition, then, the next time the device reboots, it will boot from the partition with the new OS,” the statement said.
Now, the reboot of the new partition takes the same amount of time as a normal boot. As a result, the effective time for an OS update is zero. Essentially, the installation of a new update will be the same as restarting a Pixel, and you’ll not get the “Optimising Apps” screen that you would often get earlier. In addition, in case there’s an issue in the new OS, or the device can’t boot from the required partition for some reason, the second partition can still allow you phone to turn on, but with the old OS partition.
It is worth noting that the two partitions and the whole process explained above are not applicable to all phones. That means that a Nougat update to your existing smartphone may not have the same mechanism, but phones that come with Android 7.0 out-of-the-box should have the new system in place. For example, the LG V20, which runs on Android Nougat out-of-the-box, doesn't have the cache partition either.
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Prasid Banerjee
Trying to explain technology to my parents. Failing miserably. View Full Profile
