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HTC One V and Desire C will never get Jelly Bean

Many of the phones HTC has released in the last year and a half will not be updated to Android Jelly Bean, the company has confirmed in the FAQ section of its website. Among the casualties are the HTC One V and the HTC Desire C, both of which are fairly recent offerings from the Taiwanese manufacturer.

HTC is currently concentrating on pushing out the Jelly Bean update to the One X and One S, according to the statement, but while rumour has it it's been bursting onto screens throughout Europe, it's yet to show its cheery face in the UK.

Whether your phone will receive the update is dependent on a number of criteria, but is primarily reliant on your phone's innards. HTC has said it won't be Beanifying any of its blowers with 512MB of RAM, as their cogs are too antiquated and weak to cope efficiently with the new software.

That rules out the One V and the Desire C, not to mention many of last year's phones. From there, it's said it will work backwards, prioritising 2012 models first.

Things are looking good for those who've bagged themselves a Desire X or a One XL, both of which pack enough of a punch to not work themselves into a tizz if and when the benevolent Android cloud rains down Jelly Beans upon them.

Other devices which would be stoic enough -- on paper at least -- to handle this sugary meteorological miracle, include the HTC Rhyme, the Evo 3D, the Desire S, the Incredible S, the Sensation, the Sensation XE and the Sensation XL.

Best not to hold your breath though, as many devices are still waiting on the last update to Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC doesn't have a perfect track record at sticking to its word where updates are concerned.

Even HTC's new top-of-the-range 4G model, the One XL, doesn't arrive with Jelly Bean on board, giving the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE -- which is all up to date straight out of the box, thank-you-very-much -- a huge advantage in the software stakes.

Similarly, the newly released Desire X has arrived running Ice Cream Sandwich, with little more than a pledge from HTC to "review" the possibility of updating it at some point. And it doesn't get much more vague and non-committal than that.

I've reached out to HTC for an update on exactly which phones can look forward to having Jelly Beans float across their screens, and I'll be sure to keep you posted if I hear anything new.

HTC is the latest company to slip this less-than-welcome news into a sub-section of its website. Only the other week Microsoft confirmed in a sneaky support note that its 32GB Surface tablet had less than 16GB of usable memory available. It seems press releases and public announcements are going the way of the town crier as methods of breaking news.

Is HTC falling too far behind with its Android updates? Has your One X or One S got Jelly Bean yet? Let me know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.

Comments 14

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anonymous's avatar

anonymous 13 November, 2012 17:21

I believe HTC is a Taiwanese manufacturer and not chinese.

Nick Hide's avatar

Nick Hide 13 November, 2012 17:28

Thanks anon - I've fixed that in the text.

anonymous's avatar

anonymous 13 November, 2012 18:01

HTC are terrible with updates, I know I can put some custom rom on it but HTC should supply updates. I've seen 4.1 running on HTC desire S fine (HTC put on some poor quality 4.0 update on their dev site and runs badly on some hand sets)

My next phone will be a nexus phone

Richard Stanton's avatar

Richard Stanton 13 November, 2012 18:54

I'm running Jellybean on an HTC Desire HD which runs absolutely fine. HTC haven't even released ICS for that. I'm even running Jellybean on an HTC Desire which I will admit is a little bit pushing it with the internal memory but it does work!!

anonymous's avatar

anonymous 13 November, 2012 20:34

I recently rooted my desire HD and installed Jelly Bean, its working a treat! Shame HTC are so rubbish about updating their phones.

CaptainPicard's avatar

CaptainPicard 13 November, 2012 23:43

I'd rather see HTC offer a battery update to the One X, rather than JB.

AkumaJack's avatar

AkumaJack 14 November, 2012 10:36

I don't understand the thinking at HTC. This is one of the reasons people will stop buying HTC's, because you can't even get updates from 24 months ago unless you root. Samsung, Motorola etc have started to see this as an important part of the user experience.

But the biggest p*ss take is the fact that they won't update phones with 512mb to jelly bean when the HTC nexus one has been updated to jelly bean and that only has 512mb. HTC makes good phones but the software support is so bad.

anonymous's avatar

anonymous 14 November, 2012 12:16

...and so the Android shambles goes on.......
You can understand why google are making moves to bring everything in-house (Nexus) and to tie the manufacturers to a more closed in and controlled Android environment.
Open source was a big mistake...and that's by Googles own reckoning, not mine.

anonymous's avatar

anonymous 14 November, 2012 15:44

This is why HTC are going backwards, every person who brought one of those phones will now be put of buying another HTC and will look another manufacturer when their current contract ends...

anonymous's avatar

anonymous 10 December, 2012 05:40

HTC are incredibly slow with Jelly Bean updates. I have a new Desire X but no news of the update. This is the first and last HTC for me.

anonymous's avatar

anonymous 14 December, 2012 05:23

I dont understand why people crib about the OS. The apps you use are all updated to the latest version with all the new features. They work flawless with the existing GingerBread and ICS. The eye candy you ask for is available as custom themes from independent developers. On HTC your JB will have the same HTC Sense UI. Why do you want to push your phone into the unknown when you know the current software is running fine.

anonymous's avatar

anonymous 16 December, 2012 15:29

When HTC is giving an update for desire x to jelly bean.........keen to get that can any one tell that..........

anonymous's avatar

anonymous 26 December, 2012 05:42

m a htc desire x user wen wud i get jeally bean update waiting since longg.....n guys for doz who r using 1V n desire c hav a bad news they can neva get jealy bean update......

anonymous's avatar

anonymous 11 January, 2013 19:52

Updates aren't just about flashy new software, but also for security, for performance improvements, for general enhancements, etc. Maybe if these developers weren't so hell-bent on modifying the OS past recognition (Sense UI) and focused on keeping the customers they have instead of forcing us to can our phones or void our warranties to get the latest software, then they wouldn't have such a hard time keeping up to date. I mean, Android 5.0 is almost out and there's, according to this article, not going to be an update for my One V. Google can create all new software before HTC and other manufacturers can modify the old ones. That says something to me. Although read on an HTC support forum that 4.1 will be coming to One V.. I won't hold my breath.

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